Feathers of a Fox
by Namesake
Summary: Her mother, as a junior, was an exchange student in Japan. Her mother had made friends with an Hitomi Kanzaki. Years later, she and her mother are in a car accident with her being the only survivor. With it clear in her mother's will, it's off to Japan
1. Tragedy and Hope

I'm not going to go through disclaimers and the whatnot. Enjoy.I won't put cherries and fudge and that other stuff on it, though. So tough!  
  
Tragedy and Hope  
  
The smell of anesthetics and cleaning supplies filed her nose She didn't want to open her eyes. She knew it would be too bright. But, oh, her nose tickled and burned, provoking tears to her eyes. She couldn't hold it in any more. She sneezed.  
  
~~!$!%#!%##  
A nurse walking down the hall heard a scream of sorts emit from a room. Startled, she hurried to it as fast as she could. When she opened the door, she saw a girl with watering eyes rubbing her nose. The nurse took her profile and skimmed through it. What had been an exuberant mood sobered quickly.  
  
Being a nurse can be so depressing, she thought to herself with a sigh. The girl's profile was surprising all in itself. She was pulled out of her thoughts with the eerie feeling of being watched. Upon looking up, the eyes of the patient in the bed bored into hers as if reading her soul. They had the most peculiar colouring. For the most part, they were a startling green, but the pupil was ringed with a grey that was almost silver and the outside of the iris was ringed in a light sienna. Her gaze was unnerving.  
  
"Good afternoon, Riis," the nurse said.  
  
"Hello," Riis said cautiously.  
  
The nurse frowned mentally. She's acting like she's trying to disappear. She's going to be difficult. "I'm Nurse Joy," the nurse replied instead. "Do you need anything or can I answer any questions you might have?"  
  
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. The nurse was expecting something like a request for food, a computer, water, or something other than the question the girl finally asked.  
  
"What is to become of me?"  
  
A sad look came to the nurses' face.  
  
"I'm not sure. On our records, you have no known relatives other than your mother," Nurse Joy said replied softy. "Investigators found your mother's will yesterday morning and lawyers are looking at it now."  
  
"Oh," was the reply from Riis.  
  
"Is there anything else?" Nurse Joy asked.  
  
"I am very hungry," Riis said meekly.  
  
"I'll find your doctor. We'll see what we can do for ya 'bout that!" Nurse Joy replied as she turned and started to leave. Before the door had finished shutting, Nurse Joy heard the faintest, "thank you" from within. She smiled to herself. The girl couldn't look worse and she was worrying about formalities. Nurse Joy started her search for Riis' doctor.  
  
!#%!#^!$^!#%$!$#!$#@$  
  
Lawyers and state officials poured over documents and like pieces of paper.looking. They had been looking for somewhere to put the injured girl for weeks, almost months. So far, they had a very depressing family tree: father OD'd and died, dead grandparents on both sides from old age, and the rest of her relatives were either in rehab, drunk, in jail, or in like stages. No one other than her recently deceased mother had been able to care for the teen.  
  
"At this rate we'll have to stick the girl in a foster home," a frustrated lawyer said.  
  
"No we won't."  
  
Everyone looked to the lawyer that had spoken. They gave her a look that as clear as day said, "Care to explain?"  
  
"Looking through Ms. Zannen's will, she has a friend in Japan that is a sister of sorts," the lawyer explained. "Here is says, 'if anything is to happen to me that leaves Riis in search of a guardian, because of my incompetent family, my daughter is to go live with my dearest friend and sister in Japan, Hitomi Kanzaki, or rather with their correct grammar, Kanzaki Hitomi.'"  
  
All the lawyers sighed. They could finally stop searching through endless papers. They had finally found a place to put the girl in.  
  
"Then it's settled," another lawyer said. "Lianne, get in touch with Ms. Kanzaki and inform her of her new arrival."  
  
"Sure, Mark," Lianne said.  
  
"She'll need inoculations," another lawyer said.  
  
"Lianne?"  
  
"I'll handle this. You guys go and get something to eat," Lianne replied with a smile.  
  
"'Kay! See you around," was voiced by the others as one by one they left leaving Lianne all by herself in the large conference room. Lianne looked at her watch. With a quick math calculation, she sighed, stood, and made her was to a phone in the corner. Opening a pamphlet of phone numbers, she dialed the operator and asked to be connected to a Miss Hitomi Kanzaki.  
  
!$^!$#*#^&#%^@^$!#%!#%$#^!  
  
As Hitomi was just about to eat lunch, the phone rang.  
  
"Good afternoon, Kanzaki Hitomi speaking."  
  
"Miss Kanzaki, will you accept a call from the western coast of the United States?"  
  
"Yes," Hitomi said confused.  
  
"One moment please," was replied. Hitomi was obviously speaking to an operator. After a few minutes, there was a click and a feminine voice started to speak.  
  
"This is Miss Hitomi Kanzaki right?" the voice said.  
  
"Yes," Hitomi replied. She was definitely speaking with someone from the U.S.  
  
"I'm Lianne Kazawaski. From the information that we have gathered, a few years back a Miss Ceciline Zannen came to live with you for almost a year as an exchange student. Is this correct?"  
  
"Yes," Hitomi replied. Something nagged in the back of her mind. "Did something happen to Ceciline?"  
  
There was a brief pause on the other end before the voice spoke again.  
  
"She and her daughter were in an accident. Ceciline didn't survive. This afternoon, her daughter, Riis, just came out of a coma."  
  
"What's going to happen to Riis?" Hitomi asked.  
  
"Since her nuclear family is dead, and her extended family is incompetent, we would usually put a child in this situation in a foster home. But in Ceciline's will, she named you as Riis' guardian if anything happened to her."  
  
Feelings erupted in her. Then she felt a tugging in the back of her mind. Van, she thought.  
  
"Miss Kanzaki?"  
  
"Oh, um.Yes?" Hitomi stuttered.  
  
"Will you accept the guardian of this child?" Lianne asked her.  
  
"I will," Hitomi replied.  
  
Hitomi gave Lianne her e-mail address so they could keep in touch and the phone conversation was ended. Hitomi sat on the floor and tried hard not to drown in threatening tears.  
  
Hitomi, what's wrong? A distraught voice asked her.  
  
Van! She had completely forgotten about Van. Since her return to Earth, she and Van had kept a strong connection: She with one of his feathers and he with her pendant. They had eventually been able to talk mind to mind after a few weeks.  
  
Van, do you remember that girl Ceciline that stayed with me for a while years ago.  
  
@^$@$%@$#^@$^@$#%  
  
Riis opened her eyes and looked at the door of her room. Minutes later a doctor and a woman dressed in a suit entered her room. The doctor looked at her bandages, removing some while changing others. When he was satisfied, he gave her a few shots and left, leaving her alone with the lady in the suit.  
  
"Hello Riis, I'm Lianne Kazawaski," the lady said in introduction. Riis gave a nod of her head showing acknowledgement. The lady, Lianne Kaza- whatchamajigger, obviously had something important to tell her. She pulled a chair next to her hospital bed, sat down, and looked into her eyes. Riis held Lianne's gaze until, fidgeting, Lianne continued.  
  
"I won't beat around the bush with you and try to soften the reality of your position. I don't think you would appreciate it if I did that. So I'll be blunt with you: in your position, you would be placed in a foster home, probably wouldn't be adopted for one reason or another, and leave the foster system bitter, anti-social, and problematic. Looking through various documents, mainly your mothers' will, she specifically stated that if a situation like this occurred, instead of you going into the foster system, you would go and live with her best friend."  
  
"You make this sound like I'm side-stepping hell to go to something almost as bad," Riis said.  
  
"Riis, this friend of your mother's lives in Japan," Lianne said. Riis froze. "I don't know how her friend, Hitomi Kanzaki, acts, what her lifestyle is, her history, we know almost next to nothing."  
  
Riis was stunned. Japan. Hitomi Kanzaki. Her mother had told her stories about that year of her life, and the.adventures she and Hitomi had had.  
  
"I've been in contact with her for a few days now and I think that this will be better for you than living in the foster system."  
  
"Can I bring the puppy my mother gave me a few months ago?" Riis asked pleadingly.  
  
"He's already been deported," Lianne replied. She smiled when she noticed Riis' doofy grin. Riis started when Lianne cleared her throat.  
  
"As soon as the doctors clear you, you'll head across the other 'pond'," Lianne said.  
  
Riis was still smiling when Lianne left. 


	2. Acrossthe other Pond

Across.the other Pond  
  
Riis was nervous and jumpy as Lianne lead her around the airport. Lianne smiled. Must be all the new sights and sounds, Lianne thought. Riis sneezed, and smells, Lianne added as an afterthought.  
  
Riis kept her eyes moving. She looked at everything from people to food stands to newspapers. Her real ears twitched and swiveled following every sound that they could. This task, however exciting it was, eventually gave her a headache. After that, she took to laying her ears flat against her skull and rubbing the bridge of her nose. She sighed heavily. She hardly knew anything about this 'Hitomi' she was going to go live with.  
  
"What?" Riis asked when she realized Lianne had asked her a question. Lianne looked into Riis' odd coloured eyes and repeated her question.  
  
"Would you like to get something to eat?"  
  
Curiosity overcame her headache and her ears perked forward. She nodded her head and followed Lianne as she turned to an oriental food place. She ordered lo mein, sesame chicken, orange chicken, and beef broccoli for both. Riis watched all this with great interest. She had never seen a restaurant like this. There was odd-looking food. She sniffed certain ones that looked appealing, her actions causing her to salivate. She and Lianne got drinks, paid for the food, and finally found a table. Lianne handed her two sticks, picked up two for herself and started to eat her food.  
  
It amazed Riis. She scrutinized her eating habit with the sticks, turned her attention to her food, then back at Lianne. Her ears drooped. She had no idea how to use the sticks. She stared glumly at Lianne. She had heard it said that the feel of a person's gaze made others uncomfortable.  
  
Lianne looked up to see a miserable looking Riis. She was puzzled. She looked at her cooling plate, then back at her face. Riis eyes moved somewhere, then back to her eyes. This puzzled Lianne to no end. She looked down at her hand that held her chopsticks and back to Riis' odd eyes. Riis nodded. Sudden realization dawned on Lianne. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.  
  
"You don't know how to use chopsticks, do you?" She asked Riis.  
  
"So that's what they're called." Riis stated thoughtfully as she looked down at them. Lianne giggled when she saw Riis attempt to hold them.  
  
"No, like this," Lianne said as she repositioned them in Riis' hand.  
  
"Oh. Like this?" Riis asked with the new position.  
  
"Yes," Lianne affirmed. She returned to eating her food.  
  
Riis found that with this new position of hold the chopsticks, the food was much easier to eat. After their meal, Lianne led them around the airport some more. Riis thought that Lianne resembled Tour Guide Barbie from Toy Story 2 explaining everything and telling how it came about. She smiled. All too soon Lianne stopped in front of a terminal for a flight to Tokyo. Riis looked up into Lianne's eyes.  
  
"Now Riis, I've been e-mailing Hitomi and she is very excited," Lianne began. Riis' odd coloured eyes were making her slightly uncomfortable. She sighed. "In this situation, I really think that you have a chance at a better life if you go. Please take that chance." Lianne hugged the girl. "Your dog should be there when you arrive," she whispered into her ear.  
  
"Thank you for everything," Riis said as she hugged her back. When they released each other, a stewardess came over to escort Riis from West Coast, US, to Tokyo, Japan.  
  
"Oh, Lianne," Riis called back.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Tell my doctor to look in the frigerator in the break room, the back seat of his car, and the machines in my room," Riis instructed. Then, as an afterthought she called, "I wouldn't wash any clothes without checking the pockets first." She couldn't say more for the stewardess was pressing that they had to leave. Lianne called back that she would, watched the plane leave, then went to car and started to drive back home.  
  
@%&!$^)!*(%_!(%*^!)&^@!&  
  
Driving down the highway, Lianne thought about what Riis had told her, especially the part concerning her doctor. Curiosity finally got the better of her. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Dr. Tobre's number.  
  
"Dr. Tobre speaking," a masculine voice said.  
  
"Michael, this is Lianne," she said. There was a contemplative pause before he spoke again.  
  
"Oh yeah, I remember now!" Michael said. "You were the one that dealt with Riis' case."  
  
"Yeah, that's-"  
  
"She's gone, right?" Michael said, cutting her off.  
  
"Yes. Why?" Lianne asked confused.  
  
"That twit hid my most important-"  
  
Lianne smiled as she was put on hold to weather the doctor's emotional storm. After a few minutes, the 70's rock dissapeared to be replaced by Michael's voice.  
  
"Did she say anything before she left?" he asked.  
  
"She told me to tell you to look in the refrigerator in the break room, the machines in her room, and the backseat of your car," Lianne informed him.  
  
"Son of a b-" the phone went dead. Lianne was very confused. Why did he hang up on her? She would have to ask him some other time.  
  
!($^!($^!!$#@^!&^982&)%^5  
  
It had taken naught but a few minutes for her to get comfortable. She listened with drooping eyes to the captain's drone on how the flight was going to be, the weather, time, blah, blah, blah. When the engines revved up to full power, she fell asleep only to be assaulted by nightmares of the accident that happened not that long ago.  
  
!)%^&!($#%!&#%!)#%*!)#%*  
  
So she was like you sister? Van asked her again one night.  
  
Yep, Hitomi replied as she washed the dishes.  
  
Interesting.and now her kid is going to go stay with you. Interesting.  
  
What's so interesting, Van? Hitomi asked pausing in her task.  
  
Do you think that she'd be able to come to Gaia and meet her "brother"? Van filled his question with all sorts of secret meanings. Hitomi smiled to herself. Van had asked her to marry him for her eighteenth birthday. She wasn't sure if he had timed it or was just lucky that he had asked her a week or so after graduation. She had accepted hands down. They had been married and had such an extravagant wedding. And then nine months down the road his heir had been born. Hitomi had felt uneasy so Van had taken her home. She lived with there with her son, Koyo, until the disturbance went away.  
  
Even though it had gone away, she felt like she was waiting for something before she went back. When Koyo was four, Hitomi had called Van to come and take him back to his rightful home when he started to experiment with his wings by jumping off of the house. That caused him to laugh. She looked at the clock on the wall in the midst of her laughter, the time making her sober some.  
  
I must be going to bed, love, Hitomi thought to him.  
  
Sweet dreams, my Hitomi, he called back.  
  
Hitomi pulled the plug on the drain and got ready for bed to the sound of gurgling water.  
  
!)!%*#)^*!#%^_!$^@)^@%  
  
Riis was unceremoniously awakened with a hard thwack to her head. She rubbed her head and blinked owlishly as she righted herself in her seat. She stretched and yawned some more in the confined space of her seat. She stopped when she realized the captain was speaking.  
  
".about the turbulence. We will be arriving in Tokyo in a few minutes. And if you're awake, you can watch the sun rise. Enjoy the rest of your flight."  
  
Hrm. there already? That ride didn't seem that long. Riis thought to herself. As she yawned and stretched some more, she wondered what Hitomi was like and what she was going to eat for breakfast. 


	3. Infamous Halfbreed

This chapter was originally named "As We all Fly Away", but as I skimmed over it, I changed it to dedicate it to my first and most loved puppy-dog which I had for a few months. (I tell ya about his story if you e-mail or IM me). I put my puppy in the story and, Dutch, run free wherever you are and stay out of trouble!  
  
Infamous Half-breed  
  
Riis entered the airport in Tokyo at an ungodly hour. She had lost all sense of time since her "nap" on the plane. After the stewardess had showed her where to pick up her baggage, she had then proceeded in showing her to where she was to meet Hitomi. As soon as she walked through the doors, her ears pressed flat against her head. The noise that bombarded her ears almost made tears come to her eyes.  
  
Riis looked around. She had only seen a picture of Hitomi once, and only briefly at that. She didn't think that Hitomi had ever seen a picture of her. Upon looking through the crowd, a woman with bright emerald eyes, honey-brown bobbed hair, and an odd scent about her caught her attention. She dragged her bag towards her and looked in her eyes. They had a far away look to them. Riis tapped the woman's shoulder hoping it was Hitomi.  
  
!)%^*!$#)%!)#%^*!)#$%*!#)$  
  
Hitomi was brought out of her conversation with Van by a tap on her shoulder. She looked down to meet the most unique eyes she had ever seen.  
  
"Are you Zannen Riis?" she asked, already knowing the answer to her question.  
  
"I am," she replied. "It's nice to meet you, Hitomi."  
  
Hitomi smiled. She definitely had that secretive air about her that Ceciline had, but her hair, and eye colour were completely different.  
  
"You're lucky you arrived this week," Hitomi said. Her eyes shone bright when Riis looked confused. "The schools all over Tokyo are out for spring break." Hitomi watched as sudden recognition dawned on her.  
  
"Oh yeah!" Riis exclaimed. She was overjoyed. Hitomi laughed. Then an idea came to her.  
  
"Hey Riis, how about we do this: we go home and eat a huge breakfast." This proposition from Hitomi was agreed upon by all and they slowly made their way out of the airport.  
  
@!^(!*$)%*!)#(%!)#*%#($  
  
Hours later, Hitomi and Riis were doing the dishes: Hitomi with a faraway look in her eyes and Riis with a thoughtful expression. When the dishes where done, Riis explored the house Hitomi lived in. Living room. Kitchen/Dining room. Bedroom. Bedroom. Bathroom. Bathroom. The last room she came to had a piano. A piano! And it was a grand piano too. Riis propped the lid open. Sitting carefully down, she slid the cover off of the keys. She was amazed at the condition of the piano. She hadn't seen a Grand in such a beautiful condition anywhere other than the music stores. Sure they had had one at their school, but it was scratched and dented. The sound was still beautiful, but its appearance wasn't.  
  
Riis, after her gawking was done, uncovered the keys and started to play. The first song she played was Minuet in G, then Swan Lake. The weather changed for the worse when she played The Happy Farmer. Lightning cracked and thunder rolled as she started The Tarantella.  
  
!$#%!^#$%!#$!^$%  
  
Hitomi was conversing with Van, having a lovely conversation about Merle's newfound fort. They laughed, but Van trailed off.  
  
What is it? She asked.  
  
Don't you hear the music? He stated dreamily. With his statement, Hitomi noticed a piano melody. She started to follow it as she felt Van lose himself to the music. The strange melodies danced this way and that with the breezes leading the dance. She checked in on Van. He was completely lost. With her conscious mind on Van, her subconscious immediately took her to the door of the piano room. She watched as Riis' fingers flew across the keys as she played The Water is Wide.  
  
Thunder crashed at the start of Fur Elise and the rain came down in torrents when she repeated Swan Lake. At the end of that song she stopped, out of songs. She sat there contemplating what song that she could play next when a thud and click startled her. She peered on the other side of the hood to see Hitomi closing a window. After gazing out of the window for a moment, she spoke.  
  
"Where did you learn to play like that?"  
  
"My mother taught me," Riis replied. "She was a very good pianist."  
  
"Ceciline played a few times when she was over here," Hitomi smiled in her reverie. "Yukari, Amano, Van and I always loved to listen to her play. We would sit out on the balcony while she would sit here and play away."  
  
Riis listened to Hitomi's story with intrigue. She had never heard of this "Van". By the way Hitomi spoke of him it was as if they were lovers or something. She sighed. She hardly had her figured out. After closing the covering, she put the hood back down. She went and stood next to Hitomi. The two watched the sun go down in silence, Riis with a calculating look in her eyes while Hitomi's were focused on something not of this world.  
  
!$#%^!#)(!#)$(!_#@$)!%(^$#  
  
By Wednesday of that week, Hitomi and Riis could pick up Riis' puppy. When they got to the deportation center and found her puppy, Hitomi eyes were huge.  
  
She had never seen a dog quite like this one. He had a black patch on his back that resembled a saddle. The black continued up his neck and tail. At the end of his curly tail the black gave way to a white tuft of fur. His mane had silver streaks through it. The black was on a sandy-tan colour, and that was on white. The top of his forelegs were a darker, almost a rusty colour. The black of his neck came around to the front in two stripes on either side. His ears stood straight up, a shade darker than his body colour. His face what white with a sand colour on the sides. The white came up in two sharp points. His amber eyes were lined black. She had never seen such a beautiful dog.  
  
"Dutch!" Riis exclaimed joyfully. The dog wagged his tail profusely in his carrying case.  
  
"That dog there caused us some trouble," a worker said to Hitomi. "He would bark until we came and gave him a treat, or fed him. I'm so grateful you came to take him. We were almost gonna get rid of him."  
  
Hitomi looked down at Riis and her dog, or, puppy. She had somehow gotten a leash on the faded blue collar around his neck and was playing tug-of-war with him with it. She filled out a couple of forms then called to Riis who took off after her with Dutch in tow.  
  
In the car, Hitomi glanced in the rear-view mirror to see Dutch looking out the window at all the new stuff. She looked back at the road trying to figure out what kind of dog he was. When she got a headache from her puzzling, she asked Riis.  
  
"He's what I like to call a German-Huskie," Riis stated matter-of-factly.  
  
"A German-Huskie?" Hitomi inquired totally confused.  
  
"Half German Shepard, half Alaskan Huskie," Riis replied.  
  
"Oooh!" Hitomi exclaimed in sudden comprehension. She peeked in the rear- view mirror again. "He's a beautiful dog."  
  
"Thank you, but he's still a puppy," Riis replied.  
  
"No way. He can't be!"  
  
"Yep. He just turned one last month," Riis told her proudly. Hitomi took all this in as she drove home.  
  
When the trio arrived home, Riis immediately took Dutch out around the block. Hitomi sighed as she plopped in a chair, closed her eyes, and leaned it against the back of it.  
  
What's on your mind?  
  
Hitomi was startled out of whatever she was thinking when she heard Van.  
  
We picked Riis' "puppy" up today, Hitomi replied.  
  
That's nice. When are you going to come and visit? Van asked her. Koyo wants to see you again.  
  
Hitomi's heart ached at the mention of her son. She missed him greatly. I'll come in two days, Hitomi told him. I have to explain some things to Riis. They bid each other good night as the door closed and Riis entered with Dutch.  
  
"So, how does Dutch like his new home?" Hitomi asked as they started to get ready for bed.  
  
!$%!*#)$!*(#)%!*!^)_$)%#_!%*  
  
Hitomi woke up and as she got dressed she put together how she would tell Riis about her real life. She padded softly down the hall and rapped on Riis' door. She repeated the knock when she got no response. When she still got no response, she softly opened the door.  
  
On the bed she saw Riis fast asleep tangled in the blankets. Next to her slept her puppy. He was sprawled along side her. Hitomi smiled and stepped into the room, turned, and softly shut the door behind her. She turned back around to meet the amber eyes of Dutch and the tri-coloured eyes of Riis.  
  
"Good morning, Hitomi," Riis said with a smile. Dutch smiled in turn and wagged his tail.  
  
"Good morning, Riis, Dutch," Hitomi said in kind. She gave the pair a long look before she started to look for a place to sit down.  
  
"Dutch, on the floor."  
  
Hitomi looked up to see Riis point to the floor after her command, see Dutch slightly lower his ears, and hop off the bed onto the floor. Riis patted the now clear area of her bed inviting Hitomi to sit next to her. Hitomi obliged.  
  
"Do you want to talk about something?" Riis asked.  
  
Hitomi looked at the girl and almost forgot what she was going to say, so she started with an obvious question. "Riis, did your mother tell you about Gaia?" Hitomi looked into her eyes and saw them come to life with a light she didn't know existed.  
  
"Yeah! She told me that you went to Gaia in a bright blue column of light," Riis started. "On Gaia, in Fanelia, there one can find the best forests. Dangerous, but they are so old and have to much to them."  
  
As Riis continued, Hitomi wondered just how much Ceciline had told her. As she listened to Riis it was clear she told her almost everything. As Riis finished her recollection she turned to Hitomi expectantly. A look into her odd eyes told her it was her turn to either tell her the stories she believed to be true were false, or tell her of her own adventures.  
  
"I went to Gaia for the first time when I was fifteen," Hitomi started. 


	4. Dove Feathers

Dove Feathers  
  
Riis' eyes were huge. She now knew the history of this person, and well, everything. Her magic allowed her to add the images. She knew her dreams would be very interesting for a while. Her attention turned back to Hitomi. Her tale had given no doubt to any of her mother's stories.not that she ever doubted them in the first place.  
  
"So, when can we go?" Riis asked. Through Hitomi's story the two women had absently eaten breakfast and were now preparing lunch.  
  
"Let me check." Hitomi said. She slowly ceased her cutting and her eyes became distant. Almost as soon as they became distant, Hitomi's emerald eyes focused again.  
  
"He's busy," she stated. "He'll contact me when he's free or I'll try to contact him again later." She smiled back at Riis. "Don't worry. We'll get an answer one way or another." They two finished making lunch and ate their sandwiches.  
  
@!($^!(@^)$(^_!(%$)!*^$)!*!$  
  
The day passed like the rest. Hitomi did what she usually did. Riis drew, tended to Dutch, and played the piano. After dinner while Riis and Hitomi were doing the dishes, Hitomi suddenly became distant and stopped drying the dishes. Riis led her to the table and sat her down before she turned her attention back to the dishes.  
  
^^*^*^*@$U^@($^^*  
  
So, what did you want to talk to me about earlier? Van asked her.  
Sorry I interrupted your meeting, Hitomi apologized.  
It's okay, but what did you want to tell me about? Van repeated the question.  
I'm coming back! Hitomi told him cheerfully. Hitomi thought she heard a hollow sound as if somebody fell from something. Van? She questioned a little concerned.  
I'm fine, she heard him say back. Just lead up to that in the future. I'm getting funny looks because I fell out of a chair.  
The couple laughed. Riis giving Hitomi a funny look while van received worried looks from Alan, Millerna, Merle, and some servants.Merle and the servants not so much.  
  
@(^&!)#%!)^)!*$^(&!^$%)!$  
  
By nightfall, ominous clouds had blanketed the stars. Hitomi had packed some bags while Riis just grabbed hers. She, Hitomi and Dutch all stood with their belongings that they wanted to bring in the small yard behind Hitomi's house. Suddenly, the clouds parted to reveal a column of blue light. In Hitomi's hand Riis smelled an odd feather, and unknown to her, Van stood on top of the Fanelian palace, his wings out, holding Hitomi's pendant. Everything that was in the clearing, including the bags and Dutch were sucked up into the column of light.  
  
@^&(!($*%^!)%)!*^(!$^&!)%!)  
  
Riis was startled awake by a loud crash of thunder. She had somehow ended up alone. She looked at her surroundings. She could barely see anything with her human visage. She dropped it and everything came to her with more clarity. Her back ears twitched to and fro as her tail swung back and forth. Another boom of thunder made her jump. This time, she heard Dutch howl. She replied. She had a slight idea where she was.  
  
After jogging through the woods, she came upon Hitomi and Dutch's scents. She followed them on what appeared to be a trail. But as soon as she started to follow the trail, everything started to go wrong.  
  
(^!&)(*%!)#(%)!^())$*%!)%(#)$!#  
  
"Dutch, slow down!" Hitomi whined as she vainly tugged on Dutch's leash. This only spurred the loping animal on. She finally just let go of the leash and he literally just dissapeared. Hitomi stood huffing, looking in the direction Dutch had gone. She heard crashing in the underbrush and turned to see him running flat out the direction they had just come from. She shivered as the wind picked up. She started to trudge along the path when she heard a familiar whisper of feathers. She looked up to see a smiling Van with open arms. She returned his smile.  
  
"I thought you said that you had a friend with you?" Van said after he kissed her.  
  
"I did, but she didn't land with me on the path," Hitomi explained. "I think she landed in the Gossamer Woods by the way Dutch took off."  
  
With this statement, Van looked semi worried. "Who's Dutch?"  
  
"Dutch is Riis' 'puppy'. Remember when I told you about that?"  
  
"Oh yeah." Van trailed off as the fuzzy memory came back to him.  
  
"Van?" Hitomi questioned. "Why do you look so worried? Is there something about those woods that are bad?"  
  
Hitomi looked into Van's cherry-wood eyes trying to read him. He sighed, defeated, and said, "Have I ever told you the myth of the Shadowfox?"  
  
!(^$!()$*^)!($^)!$%_!$#_!%  
  
Sorry the chappy is so short! I decided to put the 'Myth of the Shadowfox' as the next chapter.  
  
As of the last chapter, I do enjoy playing the piano and I do know how to play most of the songs I had Riis play. 


	5. Myth of the Shadowfox

Myth of the Shadowfox "Myth of the shadowfox?" Hitomi repeated. "I've never even heard you mention a 'shadowfox'."  
  
"My mother told me a story about them when I was quite young," Van explained. He smiled and continued at the fond memory of his mother. "One of the reasons I remember it so well was that I had my mother tell it to me so much." He chuckled. "It started like this: Shadowfox: a creature that, if caught and persuaded, will give a boon to it's captor in exchange for its release.  
  
"A shadowfox was a creature of stealth, speech, and of darkness. Night was their element. Black, albino, or white ones were the best to catch. They had the more powerful magic out of all the colours: black being the highest, then white, then albino.  
  
"A shadowfox looks like a human. A few ways to tell them apart are their senses. Their eyes would be an odd colour and they could see well in the dark. Their hearing would be acute, sensitive to loud noises. It would be able to pick up even the softest of sounds. Their sense of smell would be astounding. Their eyes might tear due to an especially strong odor."  
  
As Hitomi listened to Van's tale, she was suddenly reminded of Riis. She needed to know more about them so she turned her attention back to Van. Van had stopped, but now continued.  
  
"Shadowfox have several forms. A human like appearance that allows them to blend in with society is the first form. This form hides the second form. This second form is similar to that of a human except fangs can be seen in the mouth, their eyes have a lining of unnatural yet natural colour. They have claws. On the top of their heads are fox ears while protruding from the bottom of their spines is a tail. Their third form is that of a fox.a large fox. It's said that they stand a meter high at their shoulders in this form.  
  
"No matter what form they're in, a shadowfox needs to be above something status wise, but also need to have an authority above them. For example, one might have a dog as something to be above while an older sibling is above them.  
  
"As for weapons.it's been said that shadowfox like to use glaives, staffs, scythes, or just about anything that is either a pole or a pole with a sharp object at the end."  
  
Van paused and seeming to check the information in his head before he started to tell the story again.  
  
"For some unknown reason, it's said that shadowfox can hear the music of a silver flute. Even if they're hundreds of miles away from the musician they can still hear the music. They also like to make music.  
  
"I heard it that shadowfox derived from the Gossamer Wood. That's why I'm a bit worried for you friend," Van concluded. Thunder rolled overhead as the wind changed direction yet again and blew into their faces this time. Hitomi became nervous and Van's eyes narrowed.  
  
"This is going to be one nasty storm," he commented. "Lucky us we reached the castle before it pounced."  
  
"Dear God," Hitomi cursed. "Riis is still out there!"  
  
"Damn," Van cursed as he ran to his rooms.  
  
"What are you going to do?" Hitomi asked.  
  
"Well, since she landed in the Gossamer Woods, I was thinking," Van let his thought hang in the air.  
  
"And?" Hitomi asked still not grasping his idea.  
  
"I'm going to play a silver flute," Van said.  
  
Hitomi's eyes shone with sudden understanding. "I get it now."  
  
"Glad to hear it," Van said with a lopsided grin. They disappeared into the castle.  
  
!)$^*!$%!&(%^!)*#$!*#(%&!#%*!)#%*!($^!  
  
Riis trudged through the woods intent on finding Hitomi and Dutch. Her ear twitched and she heard the distinct noise of soft running. She looked up and, in the dimness of the forest, saw Dutch running at her. She smiled and yipped. This only made him run faster. She smiled when he overran her location. She smiled again as he turned and trotted back toward her. He smiled his doofy smile, twitched his left ear and raised his right eyebrow.  
  
"No!" Riis laughed. "We can get lost in the woods another time. Right now I want to find out where I am." In response to her statement, thunder roared above her and was immediately followed by a torrential downpour.  
  
"Great! Just great!" Riis' mood darkened. She didn't particularly want to transform again. She started to run to the right when she heard a noise. She found it moments later to be one of her bags. She hurriedly opened it to pull out a green cloak. She zipped it shut again. She threw the cloak over her drenched form. Dutch just smiled and barked.  
  
"I know it won't help me that much now," Riis replied to his inquiry. "But it will help me to retain what body heat I have left." Dutch just yawned and started in another direction.  
  
I think he's trying to get me lost, Riis thought as she growled him back. As she was deciding on where she would go next, she heard the prettiest music ever. She closed her eyes and relaxed as the silver music fed her mind. She jumped when lightning cracked above her. She jumped, terrified. She lost her mind to her instincts when the situation finally sank in. And her instincts told her to follow the music. She took off running through the woods, pack in one hand, cloak billowing out behind her, Dutch running slightly in front of her on her right.  
  
!(%^!&($%^!&#(%&!(^(#$*!#$  
  
Van's unruly hair was swept about his face as the wind changed again, this time bringing rain. He didn't flinch. He needed to get Riis here. If the music didn't work on her, he hoped it worked on her dog. Merle had found the pair as they walked in the castle, so she was absent this time. He changed to a different song. The beginning of this song brought an eerie tone on the wind from the woods. He wondered if shadowfox really did live in the Gossamer Woods.  
  
After a few songs, Koyo appeared next to Van.  
  
"Any luck, father?" Van shook his head yes.  
  
"Should I go?" Van shook his head no.  
  
Koyo sat down. He had a wonderful mix of his mother and father's features. His hair was a few shades lighter than his father's, but many shades darker than his mother's. Some really dark brown colour. His right eye was green with brown flecks and his left eye was cherry-wood with green flecks. His skin tone was the dark complexion of his father. His Draconian wings were white as well. He wore a black cloak over his green tunic as his father wore one over his red tunic.  
  
It seemed like Van played the silver flute for hours. When He thought he saw something coming toward the castle, lightning struck a tree and fell in its path. A dog was barking. It had passed the tree and was calling for its mistress who was still running. She jumped the tree, and Koyo's eyes widened. He would have had to either fly over it or go around it. The figure just stood there breathing heavily. Koyo leapt off the roof, wings finding slits in his clothing as not to rip them. He glided down and started to run to her. He stopped when she turned to face his direction and the wind blew to him  
  
Her eyes were like a cat's eyes and were the oddest colour. He couldn't specifically identify it. He saw that, instead of regular fingernails, claws dominated the ends of her slender musician's fingers. Something twitched underneath her cloak that had to be a tail. The wind whipped her hood back some to reveal black ears. The girl brought her hand up to draw the hood back over her ears and tuck a piece of loose hair back in its place.wherever that was. She closed her eyes, revealing a silver lining that seemed to be natural. He saw something in her mouth change by the way her skin moved, her hood fell, and the something under her cloak stopped moving. When she opened her eyes, the lining remained, but her eyes were glazed with fatigue.  
  
"Hello Koyo," the figure said before she collapsed. Koyo scared stiff at the mention of his name. How did she know it? He didn't see when the dog came exactly, but it nudged him forward. He took the hint and picked up the surprisingly heavy girl. He muttered to himself as he made his way back into the castle.  
  
Van stood on top of the castle, wind whipping his cloak and hair, silver flute in his hand. He watched the whole exchange before he, too, followed Koyo's example and entered the castle.  
  
!($%^!&$)%*!)&^(&%!(#$*!)#$(!#*%!)^!)$*  
  
HEHEHE! I do have a green cloak! I'm thinking that the next chapter is coming soon. I'm starting to get ideas for my other stories so this might not be updated as soon as you all would like. I'm working on it! *closes door to lair and starts typing* 


	6. Revealed as an Animal

Revealed as an Animal  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Running through the woods.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
We caught to beg a boon.  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
We know you hate the cage.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
At least sixteen of age.  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Give us what we crave.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Then we'll release you whence you came.  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
It's not good to with hold.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
You better oblige to what your told.  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
We caught to beg a boon.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Your denial is your doom.  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Running through the woods.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
We caught to beg a boon.  
  
Riis woke up in a fluffy bed somewhat disoriented. She felt Dutch on the bed too. She didn't think that there could be a bed big enough to fit the sleeping positions of her and Dutch. She was new to this idea of sleeping comfortably. So new in fact, that she didn't notice someone had entered her room until the door was shut, causing Riis to jump/fall out off bed and Dutch to startle awake. When she saw who her guests were, she sighed in relief. Van and Koyo stood in front of her door.  
  
"May I help you?" she asked.  
  
"Welcome to Gaia and to Fanelia," the taller one, Van, said.  
  
"Thank you," she replied with a head bow.  
  
"This is my son, Koyo," Van said, indicating the person to his left. Koyo bowed his head after she graced him first.  
  
"Nice to meet you," Riis said.  
  
"The pleasure is mine," Koyo replied. There was a moment of silence before Van spoke again.  
  
"After breakfast I would like it if you got to know the castle," Van told her. "Koyo said he would show you around." He smirked before continuing. "That way you can get anywhere in the palace." Riis looked to Koyo's eyes that shone with mischievous intent. Riis replied in kind, said she would be at breakfast. They left and she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Why had she been holding her breath? She went back over everything that had happened.  
  
The first thing that registered in her mind as she woke up was warmth. She was in sunshine. The next was the scents: Dutch, dust, lilies, roses, cherry trees, grass, rain and others that she didn't recognize. Then the knock had startled her off the bed. Her thump on the floor bid them in and a new scent met her nose, a familiar one that she couldn't place. It was like that of white doves, but was wild too. White doves weren't wild. The scent also held a twist of wind, earth and rain. This greatly confused her, and while she conversed with the King and Prince, she tried desperately to figure out the smell.  
  
Coming back to reality, she was frustrated that she couldn't figure the scent out and surprised that she had also changed her clothes. She opened her room, Dutch on her heels, to see Koyo sitting next to the doorframe on the floor. He looked up at her and smiled. Dutch immediately attacked the prince in by sniffing, licking, and laughing. Dutch barked and looked at Riis whose mouth was open in clear astonishment.  
  
"Dutch! How dare you say that!" she chided. He just wagged his tail and laughed.  
  
"What did he say?" Koyo asked, curiosity overcoming the strangeness of the conversation.  
  
"Dutch said something that was totally inappropriate for the given situation and I won't repeat the vulgar statement!" a heated Riis replied. Dutch laughed as he ran in circles around the two barking. Riis, having enough of her belligerent half-breed's actions, growled deep and menacing. Dutch shut up and sat behind her, head lowered and ears drooping, chastised.  
  
Koyo, thoroughly confused by this, shook his head. "Let's go to breakfast?"  
  
Riis nodded in agreement. She followed as Koyo, but stopped and turned to Dutch as she felt his attention drift.  
  
"If you wander more than two feet in any direction, you don't want to know the consequences," she snarled menacingly. Dutch's eyes shone with understanding. She turned around and resumed following Koyo.  
  
@^*^)!*^*!!)*!^)!*%$)^)&*@#$%*@^#  
  
Breakfast was...interesting shall we put it. Riis sat in between Hitomi and some guy that, to her opinion, needed his hair in a ponytail if he wanted to keep it that long. Hitomi filled her plate with food she didn't recognize. Dutch whined below her and she sent him a low, warning growl to shut him up. She did recognize one thing here that delighted her. They used silver wear instead of chopsticks! This she thanked God for. She still couldn't use them despite Hitomi's help.  
  
Riis gingerly sniffed her food and tasted each one by one. She ended up eating everything on her plate out of courtesy. Some of it she loved and some she wished would go back to wherever it came from with a vengeance. After what seemed forever, Van declared breakfast over. Everyone stood after Van and congregated around Hitomi and Riis.  
  
"Welcome back, Hitomi!" the weird guy with the long blonde hair greeted her.  
  
"Hello, Allen," Hitomi replied before she turned to Riis and addressed her. "Riis, I have to go sit through meetings with Van. I'm a queen here." Riis nodded. "Have fun with Koyo!" Hitomi hurried the way Van had gone. Riis turned around to tutting.  
  
"Will that girl ever learn?" a blonde woman with wavy hair and purple eyes stated.  
  
"Millerna, hush," the man, Allen, said. As the adults started to turn their attention and curiosity to Riis, Koyo came to her rescue.  
  
"Would like to tour the castle now?" he asked hinting at something she couldn't place.  
  
"I would love to get away from here," she hissed back at him. He smiled and started to leave. She told Dutch to behave as they followed him.  
  
!(^&(&(*^)!(^)*&^!!($#&^%#!$%#@(^  
  
After seeing the North and West wings of the castle, Riis and Koyo found themselves in the training courts and hunting lodges. Riis and Koyo watched as some soldiers sparred with various weapons. She didn't know where Koyo's attention was, but hers was on the staff and glaive courts. She laughed when one guy got clobbered on the head with the handle of the glaive.  
  
"Do you think this is easy?" the embarrassed man stated.  
  
"YES!" she replied to the guys question with gusto.  
  
"Then you come here and fight the guy," he told her bitterly.  
  
Everyone in the area stopped whatever they were doing be it sparring, tending weapons, injuries, etc. to see how the new, unknown girl would respond to such a bold statement. She easily vaulted the fence and walked up to a rack of "poled weapons" as she muttered it. She picked a glaive that nobody had mastered, or used for that matter, and walked over to wear the man, now standing, was scowling.  
  
"Hope Mishi here ruffs you up good," he said with scorn.  
  
"Whatever," Riis replied as she took up a stance,  
  
"Get on with the start, Greffyn," Mishi snarled. This man was not a happy person, Riis thought as Greffyn raised a metal helmet.  
  
"When this makes its noise, you may begin," Greffyn stated. He turned, threw the helmet and bolted. The helmet hit the wall and crashed into something. When the noise reached her sensitive ears, she cringed as Mishi attacked.  
  
Her glaive was a blur. She blocked his moves and threw some of her own at him. At one point, when Mishi's attack was heavy, Riis lost concentration of her human form. Her upper arm was sliced and she growled. She was no longer the human she had appeared to be, but some odd cross between a fox and a human. She lunged at the startled Mishi, ears flat against her head, tail thrashing. He barely blocked. The battle continued, more heated than before. After sometime, a familiar voice spoke to Koyo.  
  
"Is that Riis, Koyo?" It was his father.  
  
"Yeah. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Koyo asked his father.  
  
"That I am," he replied. "We're going to have to have a talk between the four of us tonight." They continued watching.  
  
Riis, in a deadlock, managed to throw her weight against her glaive and knocked Mishi off balance. She then twisted her glaive around and took his feet out from under him with the handle. As he attempted to rise, Riis stuck the blade of her glaive in his face.  
  
"I win," she stated coldly, ears still back, tail thrashing behind her.  
  
"Sure," Mishi panted. "You. Win."  
  
She looked around her, now very aware of many eyes on her. After a quick look around herself, she realized that every single pair of eyes was on her. She cursed blackly before disappearing.  
  
Greffyn went to help Mishi up. When they stood they conversed something as a few more guys came over. And what met their ears they didn't like.  
  
"Shadowfox, shadowfox, running through the woods. Shadowfox, shadowfox we caught to beg a boon." 


	7. Dutch's Two Cents

Dutch's Two Cents Riis angrily paced in her room, unaware of the blood that freely ran down her arm. She needed to break something....anything. She just needed to rip something to pieces. She growled in anger. Her tail twitched in agitation. He hurt her! The nerve of him! He had no right whatsoever to do that. She growled. Amid her frustrations she didn't notice the entrance of Van and Koyo.  
  
"Riis?" Van asked tentatively.  
  
"Yes?" she hissed.  
  
"Is there something wrong?" Van asked uncertain if he actually should ask the question or not.  
  
"'Is there something wrong?'" she mocked back. Riis stopped her pacing, and turned to face the pair of Draconians with an intense glare. "He cut me!"  
  
"Riis, who was your mother?" Van asked.  
  
"Ceciline Zannen," she responded automatically. Anger forced the next question out in a voice that was too calm. "Why?"  
  
"What was your grandmother's name?" Van asked instead.  
  
"Fir Shadowfox," she replied without hesitation. Van turned to Koyo. They had the information that they needed.  
  
"Do you know what you are?" Koyo asked her.  
  
"I'm a shadowfox," she responded. Her angry expression turned to a worried one. "Is that a bad thing?"  
  
"Considering that you showed yourself to a good portion of the army, yes," Van stated offhandedly.  
  
"You should have that looked at," Koyo said pointing to her arm. "Can you look human again?"  
  
"Nope!" Riis replied. "This is my normal form anyway. Besides, I don't have enough energy right now." She smiled. "I haven't had a fight like that since before my mother passed away."  
  
"Then put your cloak on," Van instructed. "We need to get you to Millerna."  
  
!#(&%^!(^$&!(#$!)#%*!@#&%^!@#  
  
It turns out that the wavy blonde with the purple eyes that Riis had briefly met at breakfast turned out to be a princess of a neighboring country and a doctor. She took a look at her arm and immediately fretted.  
  
"I haven't done anything this serious since your accident with Escaflowne, Van," Millerna replied wringing her hands. Riis didn't like her attitude, so she gripped her chin and turned her head so that her startled purple eyes looked into her tri-coloured ones.  
  
"I don't care if you have never done this," Riis hissed. "If somebody doesn't close this, I'll bleed to death. So if you would so kindly oblige me to stitches I would greatly appreciate it."  
  
Miller stared wide-eyed at the girl who was holding her chin in a bloody hand. She nodded, speechless. Slowly, Riis took her hand away from her hand away and sat there with complete trust in her eyes. Millerna turned, grabbed a few things out of her bag, and among them was a needle.  
  
Koyo watched the scene unfold. He had been conversing with his father but turned around when he saw his father jerk his head. Riis was shaking with fear. Koyo saw her skin starting to darken. Koyo unfurled his wings with an explosion of feathers. Riis stared in amazement complete forgetting Millerna and the needle. Then, vision blurring, she fell on her side as Millerna put the needle away.  
  
!($#^!(#$&%!(#@%^)$^&!(%!#($!@  
  
Now, we backtrack since Dutch hasn't been mentioned in a while. What has this half-breed gone and done now? First of all, after Riis disappeared from her fight, Van and Koyo had no idea where to look for her. He, on the other hand, since he was bound to her, knew exactly where she was. He barked and got Van and Koyo's attention. He started to trot away, looking over his shoulder now and then. The stupid "doves", as he liked to call them, after a while finally figured out that he was trying to take them somewhere. Dutch was the one that had led them to Riis' quarters. Dutch was the one that had made sure that Hitomi had been busy cleaning up her quarters. He laughed. Hitomi had quite the job to do! He now sat to Riis' left as Millerna stitched up the gash in her upper arm. After that was done she wrapped the arm up. Dutch laid down and fell asleep.  
  
!$(&^!#$(*%!#@($&^!$#* Sorry the chapter's short. The next chapter or maybe chapters is about Riis' mother's time in Gaia. 


	8. Memories

Memories Ceciline was nervous when she stepped off the airplane. She had started to e-mail Hitomi last week. She knew the girl was nice and all but she still had her doubts. Damn instincts, she thought bitterly.  
  
"Hey! Hey Ceciline!"  
  
She looked up when she heard her name called. Two girls, one with dark red hair and brown eyes and another with honey-brown hair and emerald eyes jumped and waved at her. She recognized Hitomi, but she didn't know her friend. She lugged her bags over to meet her "family".  
  
"Hello Hitomi!" Ceciline said as she smiled. Her friend giggled.  
  
"Hello Ceciline," Hitomi said back. "This is my friend, Yukari."  
  
Greetings were exchanged before they all left. Upon reaching familiar territory, the girls dropped Ceciline's baggage off at Hitomi's house before they hit the town. They stopped at an ice-cream parlor then they went to a café. There they picked up Yukari's boyfriend, Amano. The two were introduced and the continued on their rampage.  
  
Hitomi and Ceciline returned home late that night. Hitomi arranged a bed on the floor for Ceciline for the night as the girl brushed her teeth. Then the girls switched places: Hitomi occupied the bathroom while Ceciline changed in Hitomi's room. As she was settling down, she distinctly heard two voices. And one of them sounded rather masculine. Hitomi entered the door, her green eyes glazed over and a smile on her face. Ceciline's silver ringed green eyes followed the girl's movements. She couldn't take hearing the voices anymore so she asked Hitomi what she thought was an obvious question.  
  
"Who's the guy you're talking too?"  
  
Hitomi immediately turned her now focused eyes on Ceciline. They glazed, she heard the voices again, and then she refocused her eyes on Ceciline.  
  
"So," Ceciline said feeling uncomfortable, "who were you talking to?"  
  
"He'll be here in a minute," Hitomi replied.  
  
True to her word, a blue column of light shone in the yard next to her window. Squinting her sensitive eyes against the bright light, she thought she saw a figure. The light disappeared and a new scent invaded her sensitive nose: the scent of the earth, growing things, rain...and the dusty smell of feathers? This was something that she had never smelled altogether on someone. A soft tapping brought her attention out of her contemplating. She looked to the window following Hitomi. She opened the window revealing the creature of her curiosity.  
  
A boy with raven hair, eyes the colour of cherry-wood, and a complexion that spoke of being out of doors a lot met her eyes. But what really made her eyes widen was the fact that he was shirtless and had white wings. He did something and they disappeared in a warm glow. Sudden recognition hit her hard. Her mother's voice spoke in her mind.  
  
"There is another planet in the sky. That's where I come from, Ceciline, the Earth's Shadow.  
  
Anyway, on this shadow planet, there is another race that ran along the shadowfox's called Draconians. They are a winged race and for some reason are despised. They smell like the earth, growing things, rain and the dusty smell of feathers. I heard a rumor that a daughter of one of the Draconians is in love with a king. Maybe some day you'll meet him...."  
  
"Ceciline?"  
  
"You're a Draconian," she whispered, barely audible to even her sensitive hearing.  
  
!(*$^&!($*%)@#$^*!($#%&!(#^@)$!  
  
Hitomi had called Ceciline's name hoping she would come out of whatever she had gone into. But what she said caused her to catch her breath and Van to tremble slightly.  
  
"You're a Draconian."  
  
Van, calmly, turned walked to Hitomi's bed, and sat down. Hard. Hitomi on the other hand just plopped herself down on the floor with one question in mind.  
  
"How?"  
  
Hitomi watched as Ceciline turned her silver ringed green eyes on Van.  
  
"What's your name?" she asked softly. Yes, she had said it softly, but it was a command nonetheless.  
  
"Van," he responded. "Van de Fanel."  
  
"Would like to know my name?" she asked.  
  
Van nodded his head.  
  
"Ceciline is my first name, but I'll tell you this so you can try and guess my last:  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Running through the woods.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Catch to beg a boon  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
At least sixteen of age.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Experience gained with age.  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Give them what they crave.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Then they return us to our domain.  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Running through the woods  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Conspiring under the moon.  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Running pointless, yon and hither.  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Running through the woods.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Catch us to beg a boon.  
  
Do you know my last name yet?" Ceciline asked when she finished.  
  
"You're name is Ceciline Shadowfox," Van whispered. Ceciline smiled, showing off her slightly too long eyeteeth that could be classified as fangs.  
  
"Would you like a boon?" Ceciline asked in earnest.  
  
"Not at this time," Van replied, relaxing some. "Thank you for asking though."  
  
Hitomi, finally over her shock of someone from across the Pacific Ocean knowing what a Draconian was, asked Ceciline a question.  
  
"How do you know about Draconians?"  
  
"My mother," she replied simply.  
  
"Who was your mother?" Van asked intrigued.  
  
"My mother was Fir Shadowfox."  
  
"Oh," was Van's reply.  
  
After the surprise, the three finally got small talk going. They had fun talking and laughing and playing games, sometimes having to explain to Van first. Finally van said that he had to leave and get some sleep. He had a long day of meetings and another one in line. He mumbled something to Hitomi, Ceciline unable to catch it with her enhanced hearing. Hitomi nodded and Van disappeared in the column of light. 


	9. Memories: A Trip to Gaia

A/N: Eh, some of you under-aged kiddies, some content is questionable in this chapter.  
  
To forewarn you all: I will have to raise my rating soon to R. An intense violent chapter is coming up.  
  
On a better note: there is going to be a nice scene between Ceciline and a particular someone she meets. ^^. Ceciline's adventures will also come to an end soon. ;_: Oh well! Then you guys can go back to reading about the devious Dutch and his mistress Riis. Now....ONTO THE STORY!!!  
  
!(&!($%)!()^%($%(#@$!  
  
Memories: a Trip to Gaia  
  
Ceciline fit in nicely at Hitomi's school. She asked Hitomi for help on this word or that phrase when she couldn't translate it correctly. Hitomi was surprised to say the least. She had never met anybody that was as fluent as she was that wasn't a native to the area. She hung out with Hitomi and participated in various activities that teenagers around the age of seventeen partake in. You know, the usual movies, late movies, sleep overs, parties, a drunk fling, then promising never to do it again the next morning. Throw in schoolwork, lab write-ups, essays, chores, and letters home and you have a full life.  
  
One afternoon a few weeks after Ceciline arrived, Hitomi approached Ceciline and told her to pack a bag for a week. Ceciline, thoroughly confused, obliged to what she thought was an odd request. She met Hitomi in the hallway, who had left a note on the kitchen table for her mother to let her mother know what she was up to.  
  
"The backyard," Hitomi told her. Ceciline nodded and made her way to the backyard and the little rose garden in the far corner. Hitomi tapped her shoulder too soon for her liking, but turned and followed her sister to a rock in the middle of the yard. She watched as Hitomi pulled something out of her pack and cupped it in her hands. She held it close to her heart and bowed her head, eyes closed.  
  
Ceciline felt extremely odd. She felt like she was going home and wished fervently to follow the feeling. She winced as a bright light made her see red through her closed lids.  
  
!^&!($^!*^)%$!()^(&!^(%$)!*^$#@  
  
Ceciline opened her eyes to meet the eyes of a creature that she thought vaguely familiar. The creature carried a spear, with what looked like an obsidian head, but she wasn't sure. Her attention went back to his eyes when she still felt them on her. His eyes were a soft brown that gradually faded into amber as you went closer to the pupil. He had two black dash marks on the sides of his face, and black ears on the top of his head.  
  
"Ceciline!"  
  
They both looked in the direction that her name had been called from. She looked back to the man, as the noises got louder. He grinned at her.  
  
"Welcome home, Ceciline Shadowfox."  
  
A bush next to Ceciline broke and moved. Her attention was transfixed on the newcomers. A moment passed before she recognized them as Hitomi and Van. She turned her head back to where the stranger had been that had known her only to find that he had disappeared.  
  
"C'mon, Ceciline, let's go," Van pressed. Ceciline noticed that Hitomi was shifting her weight from one foot to the next. She was nervous about something. She stood up and, while brushing debris off of her, asked Hitomi a question.  
  
"What's up?"  
  
"She thinks we're being watched and it all paranoid about it," Van explained. "But I'm not too thrilled to be here either."  
  
"Ok then," Ceciline stated. "Let's go." Van turned and took the lead with Hitomi following. Ceciline was last. Thinking to herself, Ceciline thought, ::I'm in love.:: Little did she know, however, that that hadn't gone unheard.  
  
@($^&(*&^)@*$%($^&@(#^$*%)!%#$@  
  
That night, no matter how hard she tried to dampen it, the sounds coming from Hitomi's room would not soften. Hitomi had told her that she would try and keep it quiet, but apparently she couldn't. Sure, it was softer than others she had overheard, but this was just too much. The scraping of the bed on the floor, the rustle of sheets, soft giggling, she growled in frustration. Grabbing her pillows and comforter, she dragged them out onto the balcony hoping for a more peaceful night's rest. How wrong was she.  
  
As soon as she got settled in, she felt a familiar presence. She opened her eyes to see the strange man from earlier that day. This time, though, she was more surprised than the last. This time she noted that the ears on the top of his head were indeed his real ears. He had an odd emotion playing in his sienna/amber eyes. Behind him on her blankets, a black tail twitched.  
  
"Good evening, Ceciline," he greeted her.  
  
"Good evening-----?" she let it hang.  
  
"Oh! How rude of me!" he exclaimed with a twinkle in his eyes. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cuero Colza." He added a sweeping bow after his statement. Ceciline giggled her delight.  
  
"So," Ceciline asked after a moment of silence. "How did you know me?"  
  
"Know you?!" he repeated incredulously. "Ever single Shadowfox here knows your name! You were the first one of us born on the Mystic Moon."  
  
Conversation quickly started about nothing. They talked about food, clothes, customs, and what the forests were like. From there it turned to family and relationships. From there it turned to them and their relationships. Cuero taught Ceciline how to make it to her third form. And from there...well...it just went downhill. Fast. They pair of foxes ended up kissing...and it didn't stop there. From there it ended in a feeling each other as they kissed. When articles of clothing started to become an endangered species, Ceciline stopped. Even though instinct screamed for her to continue and that this was right, she hadn't lost the rational part of her brain that was screaming louder that the next step was very wrong...this point in time. Cuero settled for holding her as she fell asleep, his ears twitching at the night sounds. He smiled when his ears found the source of what had driven her out on the balcony in the first place.  
  
!(^!$(*%!)^*(@(&^%*^)@!$%!)$^)$%*#$  
  
"Ceciline!" Hitomi chirped as she opened the door. Her next call died in her mouth when she found the bed empty and naked of it's coverings and pillows.  
  
::The poor, poor, bed,:: Hitomi thought. She giggled helplessly at her childish antics. She turned and went in search of Van.  
  
Hitomi found Van in her room...under the bed? She wasn't going to ask. She dragged him out from under the bed and, with him still practically asleep and she dragging him, led him to Ceciline's room. Van woke up quick when he saw the state of her bed. They scoured her rooms and Hitomi, being as she was the more awake of the two, noted that the sheet was stuck in the door leading to the balcony.  
  
"Hey Van," Hitomi pointed the sheet out to him. He nodded and the two abandoned Ceciline's rooms for the adjacent balcony. Once there, they looked to the end that had the most plants and just stared. There, among the leaves, branches and flowers of the potted plants, was a misshaped figure. Upon closer investigation, the comforter was identified as the one that had been on Ceciline's bed. Therefore, by transitive property, the figure under the blanket had to be Ceciline.  
  
Hitomi and Van slunk over to the figure guessed to be Ceciline under the potted plants on the balcony. Hitomi gently poked the sleeping youth. No response. Van poked her. No response. They looked at each other then simultaneously poked her. Ceciline groaned and rolled over mumbling something unintelligible.  
  
"Wake up, Ceciline," Hitomi said as she prodded her.  
  
Again another mumble, but this time it was almost audible....something about not doing something because of something.  
  
"Come on, Ceciline," Van said.  
  
Ceciline sat bolt upright. Hitomi and Van's eyes widened at the sight before them.  
  
!(^@!&*$)%*!)$#&^!()*$#)!%&@()#$*  
  
::Wake up darling Ceciline::, a voice called to her.  
  
Ceciline sat bolt upright, throwing her comforter into her lap. Her black ears twitched two and fro searching for the noise. Her green-silver eyes, now lined in silver, searched her surroundings trying to find the source of the voice.  
  
"Um, Ceciline?"  
  
Ceciline turned her head to see Hitomi and Van staring at her. She watched as a look passed between Hitomi and Van. She didn't particularly like that look.  
  
"Can I?" Van asked her.  
  
"I guess so," Ceciline responded, as she had no idea what he was asking of her. She watched as his large hand move toward her head while she sat following his movements with her eyes. Her eyes widened in astonishment as she felt his fingers stroke her ear. Her astonishment quickly faded to that of pleasure. Something resembling a purr escaped her. Ceciline lost track of time.  
  
!($^&!($*%!)#()!%*(!#)$!(%$(^  
  
After the week was up, Ceciline and Hitomi returned back to "The Mystic Moon" as the people of Gaia called it. Over the course of Ceciline's stay, she and Hitomi ventured back to Gaia many times. The last one was the most memorable. 


	10. Memories: The Last Trip Midnight Escapa...

A/N: The beginning of this chapter is a LEMON! You have been FOREWARNED!!!  
  
Anyway, this story is losing it's sweet innocence here in the next few chapters. The rating will have to be raised due to the lemon in this chapter and future scenes of violence.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
@$(^&!($*%(!#*$(*!#%(&  
  
Memories: The Last Trip - Midnight Escapades  
  
Ceciline blinked the bright blue light out of her eyes as she took in her surroundings. She had landed in the woods...again. It seemed that they called to her. Or something. She was perplexed. She stood up while thinking about it and stared toward the path when a rustle in a rhododendron caught her attention. She turned and followed the noise. She soon caught a familiar scent and smiled mischievously.  
  
After chasing the soft noises and the scent, she leapt right and tackled her "mysterious" leader. Cuero Colza's laughter was full of mirth. A cricket chirp caused her ear to twitch. This was a new change of surroundings. She turned her attention away from her boyfriend and looked around. What she saw took her breath away.  
  
Dusk was settling on a two springs: one hot and one ice-cold. Cypress trees grew in the pond between the two springs. Boulders were sprinkled haphazardly throughout the whole system. Lightning bugs flashed as they flow hither and yon with no exact destination. Peepers, frogs and crickets sang to the night along with unknown insects. She turned her eyes back to Cuero, inquiring about this strange turn of events. The emotion of his eyes changed and he smiled the smile of one who knows something that nobody else does. Something clicked deep in her core-self. Her eyes shone with the same light as his did. His smile broadened and she laughed.  
  
He rolled over. He now had her pinned to the ground. She growled and he laughed. He kissed her and she kissed back. After their running escapade through the forest, they were quite dirty. Cuero went to a tree closer to the hot spring, stripped behind it, and jumped in with a splash. This task took Ceciline slightly longer. She took her braid out, ran her fingers through her extremely long hair, went to a tree closer to the cold mountain spring, stripped behind it, and plunged herself into the chilly water.  
  
Ceciline stealthily wove through the cypress groves. She heard a noise and splashed in that direction. She heard spluttering and coughing. She laughed and dove under the water. This game continued between the two, they never coming within five feet of each other.  
  
They eventually got out of the water. They dried on separate rocks over near the hot springs. They met each other when they were heading back to retrieve their clothing. Their eyes met and things went downhill fast.  
  
As the crickets and peepers chirped, two shadowfox danced a dance that they could only hear that was as old as time.  
  
!($^&!(#%$*!(#(^&%!($#@*  
  
Hitomi entered Ceciline's room to find her vomiting all over her bed.  
  
"What happened to you?" Hitomi asked thoroughly concerned.  
  
"I guess I ate something that hated me yesterday," she weakly replied sarcastically. She opened her mouth to say something else, but her face paled and she turned away to vomit. She never noticed when Hitomi left, or when she came back with Van. She never noticed when Van looked in her fever glazed eyes, or when he felt her swollen glands. She never noticed when her pulse was taken, or when he made her lay down on her back, almost hanging off the side of the huge canopy bed. She sighed when she felt strong hands massage her back. She shuddered losing control of her human form.  
  
!($^&!($*^@)(%@($!&^($#  
  
Van wondered what on Gaia Ceciline had eaten to make her so sick when he felt something silky soft brush his arm. He looked to see Ceciline's black foxtail, when she threw up again, he looked and saw her black fox ears. Distant shrieking caused an idea to form in Van's head.  
  
"Hitomi?" Van asked the girl in front of the door.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Please fetch me Merle," Van commanded. Hitomi nodded and left without a word.  
  
He turned his attention back to Ceciline to discover her silver-green eye staring dazedly back at him. But before he could say a word to her, She spoke to him.  
  
"We both ate this plant," she explained. "It was on the left side of the cold spring. He had us both eat it." She passed out.  
  
As Ceciline finished her speech, Merle decided to enter the room.  
  
"What would you like of me, Lord Van?" Merle asked with enthusiasm, pleased that she could help her lord.  
  
"Could you go to the bipolar springs and, from the cold spring, bring me back the plant that grows there," Van instructed.  
  
"Right away, Lord Van!" Merle chirped as she ran off down the hallway. Van returned his attention to Ceciline. ::What have you gotten yourself into?::  
  
(#@$^(@*$#)%@($)^*@$)(%  
  
Merle came back in a few hours with a plant that Van recognized and knew the antidote to. He set about making it and eventually got Ceciline to take it...even though he basically had to shove the medicine down her throat.  
  
After a few hours, Ceciline showed signs of improvement. Chills and a fever as the antidote fought the poison was high and quickly over. Then she slept for the next day and a half. When that ordeal was over, Ceciline and everyone else tormented the servants, snuck out of the castle after Van's curfew, and vandalized an inn in the town. Ceciline thought it very amusing that Van had a curfew and told him so. He just glared at her before breaking into a smile.  
  
Apparently he hadn't always had a curfew. He was given it a few years ago when he got mad at his advisors, rolled in the dirt with his clothes on, mussed his hair up, threw a cloak on and just walked into town. His advisors had gone nuts. The inn keepers he had told laughed whenever they heard the rumors of King Van's disappearance. The rumors were great. It wasn't until, some days later, one of his advisors found him in a tavern playing dice with some guys and drinking at some ungodly hour that he had been dragged back to the castle and given a curfew. The story just made the curfew all the more hilarious. Van thought the same. He still snuck out at ungodly hours to go and play dice at that tavern.  
  
The story of Van's curfew gave Ceciline an idea. After throwing up one morning, she proposed it to Hitomi and Van at breakfast. Of course, it was proposed in hushed whispers behind hands with much giggling and the raising of eyebrows. It had been decided. That night, after the advisors made sure Van was locked in his suite, the conspiring teens snuck into Ceciline's room, climbed down the balcony with tied sheets, much like Van had attempted to do as a child, and made their way to the town and the tavern Van gambled in.  
  
@(&^*@($*%)@$^*)@$#(%@&^!@%  
  
"Hey look!" someone bellowed as they three of them entered. "Chip brought some friends with him this time!"  
  
"Hello to you too, Jim Bob," Van muttered as he made his way over to the table he always occupied on his escapades. His "friends" followed and sat down around the table with him. Vino was ordered all around and the gambling card games ensued. Along with lost money many weapons were gambled away as well with curses. In fact, Hitomi and Ceciline were sure that they had never heard Van with the accent he had added to his speech along with enough cuss words to rival any sailor.  
  
Ceciline picked up on Van's get up. She swallowed her whole cup of vino before picking up some cards at the beginning of the next game. She ended up winning a nice blade, much to the cursing of some guy called...Guy.  
  
Eventually, after several rounds of cards and many mugs of vino, Ceciline was getting rather drunk. When she was drunk, she lost control of her human form. The guys at their table noticed, and, thankfully everyone else in the tavern, albeit not many at that, didn't notice. They whispered the beg-a-boon chant/spell/thingy that for some unknown reason struck a cord in a shadowfox. Ceciline responded with her own version and then asked them for their boon. They told her and she obliged them.  
  
Van looked out the window and panicked. They had been gone longer than he had wanted to be. He excused himself and his "friends" as the others put it, and they ran back to the castle, climbed up sheets, rolled them up and stuffed them under Ceciline's bed before retiring to their own rooms falling asleep as soon as they wore night garments.  
  
@()*$^)@)$&^*@)(#)$@^@)%$(  
  
Now, waking up the next morning was a different story. Van's advisors came and attempted to wake Van up. Van growled something about no meetings tomorrow and switching all of that day's meeting to tomorrow. The advisors bowed and hurriedly left their irate king to do his bidding, even if it was reluctantly. But they were happy for a slight day off. They moaned on hangovers and managed to gather into Van's room since it was the biggest. Merle made them a hangover remedy and they enjoyed the rest of the day tormenting the advisors. Poor advisors.  
  
That evening, after Ceciline had thrown up, Hitomi and Ceciline had to leave. Ceciline had to return to her home soon and she needed to pack all of her stuff. As she and Hitomi went out to the balcony, as the blue light was coming down to take them away, Ceciline heard a howl and smiled. Everything became too bright and she shut her eyes to enjoy the bliss the blue light brought to her.  
  
$()^&*!)$)%!^$#&!)$%(^@#$^&@&#$!  
  
A/N:  
  
Almost makes you feel sorry for the poor advisors....almost. This is going to be the last chapter on Ceciline. There will some flashbacks with her in later chapters. But this story is going to rated R from now on. Sorry.  
  
R&R por favor, please, etc. 


	11. The Idea and Plan of Mishi

A/N: sorry it took so long for all those hordes of people reading this (hear the sarcasm?) that it took so long to get this chapter out. My computer ate the beginning of it. Anyway, tiene algunas problemas. Read the chapter and enjoy! ^^  
  
The Idea and Plan of Mishi  
  
Mishi wasn't happy with the idea of losing. He had never lost a duel like that to a newcomer since he could remember. He took a look around him as he swirled his cup of scotch. What met his eyes were the regular scum that occupied the bar. He was so angry he turned and randomly flung his scotch across the room, barely missing someone. A thought struck him. He motioned to his men that had accompanied him before leaving the tavern, going to a secure location, and telling them of his plans that had come to him as he threw the scotch.  
  
!@#*%&!#($!*#@%()!  
  
Koyo and Riis were walking towards the sparring courts. Apparently, Koyo had a "surprise" for her. When they got there, the courts were empty. Koyo said that they must be eating in the garrison or something. He led her over to a tall standing shelf, opened it, and thrust into her hands the glaive that she used yesterday.  
  
"But."  
  
"No," Koyo told her firmly. "Father and I both discussed it. He said, since no one else here has ever moved as well using that weapon. He and I both agreed that you should have it."  
  
"Um.Thank you," Riis said looking at the glaive.  
  
"I'll be taking that, Missy," a harsh voice said from the shadows. The owner stepped into the light to reveal himself as...  
  
"Mishi?" Koyo sounded confused.  
  
"Come out and play," Mishi said as a few other men stepped out of the shadows to surround the two teens. Riis sighed and shed her human form. Her tail twitched as she crouched into a defensive stance. The two teenagers and six adults stood there, ready for anything while Riis' ears swiveled at the background sounds. One sound in particular caught her attention. She turned, and saw a most blood chilling sight.  
  
"Koyo!" she shrieked as she grabbed him and threw him into the air. The arrow that had been meant for him hit Riis in the side. Snowy feathers fell to the ground as the men all attacked Riis.  
  
It is fair to say that Riis was at a disadvantage. Six to one: not good odds. With ears constantly turning to catch every sound, Riis held her position blocking most of the attacks that came her way. All the while, she noticed, Mishi stood on the sidelines.  
  
::Wait!:: Riis thought. ::If Mishi is on the sidelines, and before there was six, then...where did this guy come from?!:: She turned to Mishi. She must have shown something in her eyes for Mishi laughed and whistled. Several more men leapt out of the shadows with swords and started to attack her as well.  
  
"Not good," Riis muttered as she was thrown on the defensive. She attempted to jump above them, but a sword scored her tail and licked her back. She growled, turned on the man, and decapitated him with out thinking. She was eventually surrounded, the men forming a circle around her with swords and short glaives jabbing at her to keep her in the middle of it while another ring of men with pikes and spears kept her from jumping out of the circle. All she could do was stand there and dodge the boldest men and growl at Mishi.  
  
A few particularly bold men, who hadn't discussed their intentions with one another, rushed her at the same time creating a gap. Riis sparred with them for no more than a breath before she flew through the gap; her actions anticipated by a spears man. Her freedom cost her a good slash across her shoulder. As the fight began again, Riis heard a shrill whistle that pained her ears. Her ears unconsciously flattened against her hair, somewhat impairing her hearing, as she cringed.  
  
Those few seconds of distraction gave Mishi the opening he was looking for. Rushing into the fray, with the flat of his sword, he cuffed Riis upside the head. She collapsed on the ground like a sack of grain.  
  
"Aaaw Miiiishiiiii!" someone whined. "Why'd you cut it short?"  
  
"Yeah," Greffyn said. "You said that we could have some fun with her."  
  
Mishi turned angry eyes to them before pointing to the sky. They all looked to see two white splotches coming at them rather fast. "Do you still want to have fun with her in front of the King and the Prince?" Panicked looks and nervous gestures spread through the group like flame to oil. " I didn't think so. Someone grab the vixen and let's get out of here."  
  
Greffyn ended up with the task of carrying Riis. He wrapped her in her cloak before draping her over his shoulders. He muttered about how heavy she was as he and the rest chased after Mishi. They fled the training courts, castle grounds, and town area. Mishi and his group took refuge in a series of caves not unlike a catacomb. He chained the unconscious girl in one room with a carpet of straw. When he returned, Mishi addressed the group.  
  
"Now, we have all our cards," he started. "The question now is: do we play our cards now, or do we wait and toy with them, waiting for the jack pot to increase?"  
  
!#(&$!#@()$*!#@%(!&  
  
Van and Koyo carefully picked through the mess that had once been a pristine training court. Van nudged various objects with the toe of his boot while Koyo was searching for something. Van sighed. He was probably looking for Riis, or something that told him she was either still here or still alive. He didn't want the boy to worry needlessly. He knew the fox- girl wasn't here. How he knew he had yet to figure out. He sighed as he watched Koyo.  
  
"Koyo," Van called.  
  
"What?" Koyo replied somewhat distracted. He smiled. If he was still his age and it had been Hitomi, he probably would have already left to follow the people with Allen hot on his tail. "Could you please send your mother out here then find Dutch?"  
  
Van's eyes were steady as Koyo searched them for some reason that would answer the question in his eyes.  
  
"Please, Koyo? I know you want to search too," Van started. "I'll let you know first thing if anything comes up." Koyo nodded before he took off running. He jumped in the air in an explosion of feathers. He was gone before the smile on Van's face pulled at the corners of his mouth.  
  
!(#&%!(#$*!)@#%&!@#$(  
  
Koyo didn't want to leave the training courts. He wanted to find Riis, but his father had to be obeyed. He started to run, but then decided he'd fly. It would get him to his destination faster. All the wonder he wondered why he was so eager on getting Riis back. He didn't know her that well and she had only been in Fanelia for a day or two at most. He sighed. The girl couldn't keep herself out of trouble.  
  
His next problem suddenly presented itself as he flew over the castle. How was he supposed to get in? He knew the corridors of the castle allowed him to fly, but how to enter. He circled the entrance for what felt like an hour when they opened to let a few guards out. Koyo dove and entered the castle with much yelling from the guards. He flew through corridor after corridor, asking people if they had seen his mother. He finally found that she was in the East Garden from one of her handmaidens. He thanked them and flew out an open window to the Gardens.  
  
!@#()%&!)#($!)#$!)#($  
  
Hitomi was sitting on one of the many stones in the East Gardens watching the birds. She loved to watch the Fanelian birds that were so different from the birds on earth and on other parts of Gaia. They were special unto the region.  
  
When she was watching, she felt another presence grace her. She was about to address it as one of her handmaidens when the wind picked up and ran around the garden taking with it snowy white feathers. Now her search narrowed to two people, Koyo and Van. She noted the size of the feathers and guessed it was Koyo. Upon turning around, her question was finally answered  
  
Koyo stood before her, bare-chested and disheveled. His hair was more unruly than usual; his dark pants were stained with something that looked like blood. He looked like he was at conflict with himself.  
  
"Come sit with me, Koyo," Hitomi addressed her son. "It looks like something's on your mind." Koyo shook his head. Hitomi suddenly felt like something was very wrong. "Is it about Riis?"  
  
Koyo was silent for a moment before he shook his head yes. "Father wants your presence at the sparring courts."  
  
"Since it involves Riis, go find Dutch," Hitomi instructed.  
  
"Yes, Mother," Koyo said as he flew back into the castle. Hitomi made her way to the sparring courts. What met her eyes startled her.  
  
When she had first arrived in Gaia, she had seen Van sparring with Balgus in an indoor court. Later she had found out that there had been outdoor courts as well. Van had showed her the immaculate courts and their fine weapons. Now the pristine place was a mess. The weapons carelessly littered the courts. Various objects were broken and scattered. Blood coloured the ground a deep crimson and angry scarlet. She was suddenly very frightened, but her demeanor showed nothing but a calm, young woman.  
  
"Van," Hitomi started, "you wanted to see me?" She watched as Van turned to face her. His eyes were glossy and sad, his face sporting a sad, empty smile.  
  
"Riis," he began. "She's gone."  
  
!$(%&!#$(!@%&!#@  
  
Koyo flew. He didn't know where he was going. Koyo flew through the castle forcing the servants to stop what they were doing and pick up his feathers. Draconian feathers were a sacred and most valuable possession...if you could get them. But even though Koyo knew of these dangers, he flew. He had a mission. He needed Dutch.  
  
He first checked Riis' room. He had told her once that Dutch, when she was gone, liked to sleep on the bed taking up as much room as he possibly could. Dutch wasn't in Riis' room. He looked around and couldn't find any dog hair. That means he hadn't been in the room since the maids collected the sheets. He ran out the door.  
  
He looked everywhere; the bathrooms, the kitchen, Merle's quarters, niches in various places. He had no idea where to look for him anymore. At the end of his willpower, a memory surged to the front of his mind.  
  
~*Flashback*~  
  
::"Do you have any gardens around here?" Riis questioned Koyo as Dutch trotted next to his mistress.  
  
::"Yeah," Koyo responded. "There's the South, East, West and Cliff Gardens."  
  
::"Does one of the gardens have roses?" Riis had stopped and was now looking at Koyo with such hope in her eyes. He looked at the steep side of the cliff that was behind the castle.  
  
::"The Cliff Gardens have roses at the~"  
  
::"Great! Just wonderful!" Riis exclaimed. Her green cloak billowed as a breeze caught it. Her long ponytail accompanied her cloak. "I love roses. Especially white roses. Roses are my favorite."::  
  
~*End Flashback*~  
  
They had ended up practically running to the Cliff Gardens. There, Riis had seen various coloured roses from blood red to white to black, each having a spectrum of different flowers. Riis had chosen two white roses that were native to only Fanelia: Dragon's tooth and Dragon's bane. Dragon's tooth was the purest white rose in existence on Gaia while the latter was a creamy off-tone white. The hue was almost a gray.  
  
Realization hit him as he entered the dining hall again. He turned, but changed his mind and flew out an open window in the dining hall getting warned from advisors and laughed to by cooks. He knew where Dutch was now. He flew with the wind to the Cliff Gardens.  
  
($%&!#@($*!#@(&%!  
  
Dutch had carefully sniffed out the two rose bushes his mistress liked the best. He was lucky. The two bushes had by chance been planted next to each other. Whining he lay down between the two. He cried himself to sleep.  
  
Dutch was slowly coming to wakefulness by someone scratching his ears and his snout. Thinking it was his mistress he opened his eyes only to find Koyo. His eyes softened and he whined.  
  
"I know," Koyo told him. "I miss her too." Dutch let himself be pet as the two cried. When that was done, Koyo wiped his eyes and shushed Dutch.  
  
"Do you want to help me find your mistress?" Koyo had once over heard Riis scolding Dutch about disobeying his "mistress" so he used the term. Dutch stood up and started to prance around Koyo. To help find his mistress! He was overjoyed. Koyo leapt into the air with Dutch following him on the ground.  
  
!$#(%!(#%&!#$*!@#  
  
Van looked up when he heard an odd tone to the wind. Koyo landed outside the fence. He was a little confused when he turned around seemingly to wait for something. His questions were answered when Dutch rounded the corner at breakneck speed, inches off the ground. He had to leap the fence he was going to fast. Koyo, with Dutch on his right, turned to Van. Van motioned Dutch to the ground and he started to sniff.  
  
Dutch sniffed endlessly, or so it seemed to Van. He finally barked, waking Koyo up from his nap against the wall. Van walked over to Dutch. He sniffed the ground, ran a little towards the woods, then back.  
  
"It appears that the infamous half-breed has found a lead," Hitomi remarked slyly as Van and Koyo agreed. Dutch smiled and wagged his tail. 


	12. And When the Moon is Full

And When the Moon is Full.  
  
Riis slowly awoke, slower than usual, one sense at a time. Her nose came first. She sniffed her surroundings and was rewarded with the smell of hay, water and dirt. Her hearing came next. She heard muffled voices along with a soft ringing. She attempted to open her eyes, and was rewarded with a half lidded view of the room. In exhaustion, Riis collapsed into a dream-filled sleep.  
  
!@#$#!@#!@!#%*^!#  
  
Riis sat at a table in a blank, green room. The empty room reminded her of a classroom of sorts. She knew she had to learn something, but what was it? After what felt like a couple hours, she stood up and started to pace. She was supposed to learn something, so where was her teacher?  
  
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the wooden door opened and in stepped...her grandmother? Even though she was happy to see her grandmother, for some reason Riis was disappointed. Somehow she knew someone else was supposed to be here. She gave her grandmother a confused look.  
  
"Yes," she replied to Riis' confused look. "You're right. I'm not supposed to be here." Riis look got m ore confused as the great Shadowfox stopped there to take a drink of something from a pouch on her hip. Riis suddenly noticed that she looked much younger.  
  
"Actually, your mother is supposed to be doing this," shadowfox continued. "That is," an evil glint shone in her eyes, "if you follow the laws."  
  
Riis smiled brightly. Her grandmother put food on the table and Riis started to eat when the next question was asked.  
  
"So, while Ceciline was alive, what did she teach you?"  
  
"Staff, pike, spear, glaive, etc. combat," Riis started. "Erm...Fanelian politics, or at least I think that's what it was...How to behave in front of royalty, how to judge people, how to read eyes, how to distinguish conscious and subconscious scents, scents, and the rule of why my hair is so long and when I should cut it." Riis paused here for a moment. "I do believe that's it besides playing the piano."  
  
She watched as her grandmother thought. "That headstrong daughter of mine sure did stick a tone of stuff in your brain before she died," shadowfox said quietly to herself. Riis' ears twitched to her grandmother's voice. Shadowfox suddenly smiled. "This makes my job a lot easier!"  
  
"Huh?" Riis was confused.  
  
"Besides the things that you learn when you turn eighteen, the only thing that she didn't manage to teach you before your sixteenth birthday was the Chant..."  
  
But before Fir Shadowfox had a chance to continue and teach Riis, the room started to blur.  
  
Fir growled an inaudible curse and disappeared quickly through the door. Riis was now frightened and confused. The room blurred and faded...  
  
!@#$#!@#!@#%!$^&*$!  
  
Riis received another slap on her torso where the arrow protruded. She gasped and flinched as the pain traveled through her. Several laughs met her tattered ears. She opened her one good eye to look up into the eyes of Mishi. She growled. Mishi laughed.  
  
"Did you say something, sweet?" Mishi asked her. She growled and spat in his face.  
  
"You...don't know...the half of it," Riis rasped through a parched throat and the rope collar that was tied a little to tightly around her neck. She was backhanded for her spirit.  
  
"Now, I can attempt to break you without any fear of that damn king and his pathetic son getting in the way!" Mishi crowed in delight. For indeed, when Riis had read his eyes, all she saw was a corrupt soul, greed, and something she couldn't quite focus her fuzzy mind on.  
  
She wasn't aware of much until she felt strong hands flip her on her stomach and something bite sharply into her back. She cried out. Sniggering was the reply to her cry. She didn't want this, and this wasn't the way to get what he wanted.  
  
She lay there, her back getting bitten by what only her mind came up with as a whip. She didn't know how many times it had cast its venomous teeth against her soft skin. Her back became numb after a while. She wasn't really aware when they stopped, either. She was too busy trying to stay conscious. She was put back in a sitting position, her back against they rough hay of her floor. Her mind floated in a thick fog that clear immediately when the chant the men were performing reached her bruised ears.  
  
"Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Running through the woods.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
We caught to beg a boon.  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
We know you hate the cage.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
At least sixteen of age.  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Give us what we crave.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Then we'll release you whence you came.  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
It's not good to with hold.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
You better oblige to what your told.  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
We caught to beg a boon.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Your denial is your doom.  
  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
Running through the woods.  
Shadowfox, shadowfox  
We caught to beg a boon."  
  
She looked at them with incredulous eyes, her mouth working but no sound came out. "I-I can't," Riis stuttered. "I-I d-don't know how." She was near tears now. She saw something flash and dodged her head in time to doge a knife, but not fast enough to dodge all of it. A thin, red line appeared on her flawless face and ran down the side of her face, much like the tears that followed.  
  
"We'll see you tomorrow, sweetie," Mishi said off-handedly as he and the small group that accompanied him left her cell. She rolled over, now acutely aware of what the whip did to her back and cried herself to sleep in the straw.  
  
@#*%!#@!(%^!$#!*#@%!#@$!  
  
Van had given explicit instructions to his administrators about how to run Fanelia. He even told them that he'd told several people about his instructions so he'd know if they were being followed the right or wrong way.  
  
So now as his little troupe traipsed through the woods, following Dutch in his erratic following of the scent trail, the whole atmosphere was ruined with the sound of thunder. Van and Koyo looked at the sky while Hitomi laughed at their expressions.  
  
"I see nothing funny with the situation here, Hitomi," Van scolded her. Hitomi just smiled at them and kept on laughing. Her laughter was contagious. Soon, Koyo had started to laugh. Dutch even threw his harsh, barking laughter into the mix. Van was flabbergasted. He didn't think that dogs could laugh. He looked at Hitomi. The corners of his mouth slowly pulled up and before he knew it Van was smiling and laughing with the rest of them. They all laughed harder when the rain started.  
  
!@#$#!@#%!^$&!*$  
  
Riis groaned as she sat up. She could barely see out of her right eye. At least I can see out of it a little bit, she conceded. She flinched as the door to her room opened. She attempted to crawl back but fell as she tried to put weight on her injured wrist. Her beatings were becoming more and more lethal.  
  
"Shh," a voice told her. Her eyes watered with the bright light coming from the corridor. She heard the door close and she slowly opened her eyes. Before her stood a girl that was slightly older than Riis herself was. She had fox-red hair and vivid amber eyes. Riis guessed that they were of similar height. A similar tunic that Riis wore accompanied her plain homespun skirt, and in her hands she carried a tray littered with objects Riis could only begin to guess at.  
  
"Hello, shadowfox," the girl said as she squinted her eyes in her glowing smile, something that Riis had almost forgot about. "My name is Tayoru. I'm going to be taking care of you." She quickly looked at the door, falling silent, listening. She turned back to Riis. "I'll also be taking care of your wounds against orders." Riis' ears strained to hear her soft whisper.  
  
"Thank you," Riis choked out. Tayoru clucked in anger. Muttering about the evils of men, Tayoru went to work. She got Riis to stand and they walked slowly over to a chair and table that Riis had never noticed. She had been consumed too deep in her pain filled existence to notice anything but the start and stop of her torture.  
  
Riis sat down stiffly. She almost wished she were lying in the hay on the floor again. The chair was wooden and uncomfortable. She slouched to the table, hissing in pain as her ribs and back protested against the movements. Tayoru had her sit up and take off what remained of her tunic. This time it was Tayoru's turn to hiss.  
  
All along Riis' back were inch wide wounds. Some were still welts and others were pussing and oozing down her back while still others wouldn't let go of the fabric of her shirt. Riis yelped each time Tayoru pulled her shirt out of a wound, the action causing it to bleed again. With all the pain Riis couldn't sit up anymore. Slowly, ever so slowly, Riis started to slide right. Tayoru, her back turned to Riis searching for something on her tray, was oblivious to this action of Riis' until she heard a muffled thud. She turned to see Riis curled in the hay next to the chair.  
  
Tayoru knelt with a basin of steaming, soapy water and an old, clean rag. After wringing it out, Tayoru, as gently as she could, started to clean the wounds on Riis' back.  
  
Riis, when she felt the bite of the soap on her wounds, muffled a cry and bit her lip. She could feel the grain of the fabric against her raw flesh. Every now and then she cried out when Tayoru had to squeez the puss out of one wound or another. Eventually Riis fell into a blissful sleep.  
  
!@#%!@#$!@#%!@#$!@#(&^*!  
  
Riis started awake very disoriented. The room spun and her vision blurred. Thoughts were running of their own accord through her mind. After what seemed like forever, her thoughts settled and she remembered her visitor, Tayoru. She also realized that her back didn't hurt anymore, and on further inspection, all of injuries other than her breaks and sprains didn't hurt anymore. She was beginning to like this Tayoru a lot. Riis smiled for the first time since she was stolen from Fanelia when she smelled the food on the table.  
  
After limping to the table and sitting down on the uncomfortable chair that she had sat on hours before, Riis saw the food was half a loaf of hard bread and a bowl of chicken broth. She was really beginning to like this Tayoru girl.  
  
!@#$$%$#@!!@#$!@#$!(^&  
  
Van, Hitomi and Koyo had taken shelter in a weeping willow. Dutch, on the other hand, wouldn't have anything to do with the willow. He was perfectly content to stay out in the rain. Van, not wanting to travel with a wet smelling dirt dog eventually hauled the stubborn animal into the shelter of the weeping willow. Dutch displayed sharp white teeth while he growled menacingly, obviously telling him something. Van ended up sleeping in a high branch of the tree while his wife slept on a comfy bed of dead leaves. Koyo perched with his father and Dutch, after shaking out his fur and drying off next to the fire, slept next to Hitomi. What a wonderful way to end a most uneventful and mundane traveling day. Who knows what would challenge the travelers on the 'morrow?  
  
!@#%!#$!@#$!#$!#$  
  
Hitomi awoke to wining. Thinking it was just Koyo having a bad dream, she snuggled back into the leaves. When the wining persisted, she cracked open one eye to see Dutch sitting with his head hung, staring at the ashes of the fire...and crying. Hitomi crawled over to the heart broken animal and patted his head. Dutch turned his sad beautiful eyes on her. So different were they from the laughing ones he had sported when they had first met it caused Hitomi's heart to go out to the animal.  
  
"There, there, Dutch," Hitomi consoled as she scratched him muzzle. "We'll eventually find her. All we can do now is hope that she is still alive." She was surprised when Dutch nodded. He looked at the tree and Hitomi smiled when she saw the devious look of mischief in his eyes. He looked back at her and she nodded. Hitomi's green eyes were the size of saucers when Dutch performed his feat.  
  
He had taken a running start and, using his claws, gripped the bark of the willow. Before Hitomi knew it, he was standing on the lowest branch. An utterly cruel idea came to her.  
  
"Dutch," Hitomi said with a mischievous smile adorning her face. "Why don't you go wake the boys up?" She suppressed a giggle as Dutch wagged his tail and leapt to the next branch and the next. She laughed outright when she heard the yells from above.  
  
!@#%!#$!#@%!#^*!$#@!#%  
  
Van groggily pushed the fuzzy thing out of his face, still half asleep, muttering something about chickens and no bacon if you don't mind. He was returning to his dream when the fuzzy thing pressed into his face again. This caused....something very interesting in Van's dream.  
  
Van, instead of being on the farm where he was before, He was in the middle of a field that he thought he recognized. Out of the tall grass, a little fuzzy animal, similar to a chinchilla, jumped and latched itself onto his face, licking his forehead. Van thought the little creature was the cutest thing and tried to get it off so he could get a better look at it...but it wouldn't come off. He tried everything and the fuzz ball wouldn't let go of his face.  
  
Van opened his eyes to see a huge pink tongue lick his face. He shrieked and jumped up. This caused three things to happen; one) Van woke Koyo up, two) Van lost his balance, and three) Van fell out of the tree. He greeted a laughing Hitomi when he landed on her bed...under the tree...on the ground. Van glared daggers up the tree at the laughing Dutch. Koyo climbed down and helped Dutch come down as well.  
  
After breakfast was eaten, with Dutch out in the lead, the royal rescue team continued on their journey.  
  
!#!$!%$!@#!%^&!*$#%!  
  
"So, Koyo, what have you been up to lately?" Hitomi asked her son as the passed a particularly large grove of trees and outcropping of boulders.  
  
"Just studying the same stuff dad did when he was my age," Koyo replied.  
  
"I never did find out what that was," Hitomi mumbled to herself. While the others were consumed in their musings none realized that Dutch had stopped. He was sniffing the air while slowly sinking to the ground trying to make himself inconspicuous. When he couldn't take the pressure anymore, Dutch ran back to the group of arguing people barking warning. Behind him a land dragon hissed and took a huge intake of air preparing to spit fire.  
  
"Run!" Van shouted as they scattered.  
  
!@#%!&^!#%$!#@!&%#$!  
  
A/N: five straight pages of typing. YAY!!! Right now as I type this I am sitting in a chair in the Granville Towers on the campus of University of North Carolina in a dorm with someone that I hate who is at the moment fast asleep. The reason being down here: basketball camp. I've played almost as much basketball in five days as I have in a month during the regular season. 


	13. Impossible Promise

Impossible Promise  
  
Cuero Colza had felt a presence that was vaguely familiar to him and had been traveling toward it for days now. Since he had been on the far side of the Gossamer Woods near Austuria the presence was muddled and mixed with the other scents on the wind. When a certain tinge in the scent reached his very sensitive nose, the shadowfox retreated to his fox form before running through the woods following the scent.  
  
!%!&#(%#!^*!)#$*  
  
The person that Riis had to appreciate most in her life in her given situation would have to be Tayoru. Tayoru came in sometime after she had been abused and would treat her wounds and feed her a broth of some kind. But what Riis was most concerned about wasn't her abuse, but her weight. She wondered how much weight she had retained through her arduous ordeal. Her smirk quickly turned into a grimace of fear as her room door opened. She could barely smell the six men through her broken nose. If it weren't for Tayoru's spasmodic cleanings Riis was sure that she would look a gory mess.  
  
"So, have you decided to give us our boon yet?" Mishi asked. She could tell he was losing his patience. She had been here for a few days now. As her mind started to shut down, a fleeting thought that originated from the chant that was spoken to her nightly was caught. She didn't have much to lose.  
  
"Do you know how old I am?"  
  
The group of men looked slightly confused before they answered what she expected to hear.  
  
"No. How old are you?"  
  
"I just turned sixteen last full moon," Riis whispered hoarsely. "And when was the last full moon?"  
  
"Three days ago," Greffyn answered.  
  
"I just turned sixteen, I haven't been taught the boon," Riis said, her voice cracking. "That night, before you guys woke me up, another shadowfox was teaching me, but you interrupted her. Now I have to wait until the new moon before she comes again." Riis was in tears now. She couldn't take it anymore. She broke down and cried. She didn't notice they men leave or the door shut. Riis was too absorbed in her miserable existence to notice anything.  
  
!$^(!$&(#%()!&$#)(  
  
Riis woke up to a sharp slap across her face, further aggravating her broken nose.  
  
"Wake up, bitch," a rough voice told her. She groggily opened her tearing eyes to see unfamiliar brown eyes.  
  
"Hn?"  
  
"Mishi told me to tell you that you have a few days," the man said. She watched as he looked back at the door. He leaned in to her abused ears. "I'll help Lord Van."  
  
Riis' eyes opened wide and she turned her head sharply to look into his eyes, ignoring the sharp pain. "What's this about Lord Van?"  
  
Again he looked at the door before continuing. "Yesterday when I was out hunting, I saw a skirmish between a dragon, a dog, and three people. I recognized the boot prints of Lord Van and Master Koyo, but the dog prints I didn't recognize nor the Lady's footprints."  
  
Riis was so happy she could cry. "The dog prints belong to my underling. The Lady's prints are the Queen's."  
  
This man looked surprised that the whole royal family was coming for her. "What's this underling you spoke of?"  
  
"Shadowfox need something to have dominion over and they need someone that has dominion over themselves," Riis explained. "The dog is under me and Van and Hitomi are above me."  
  
"I see," her nameless guest said. "I'm keeping a record of all the people that have come in and out, fought against who, and who have died in Mishi's little band. I plan on leaving it as soon as you're rescued." He started as he heard noises in the hall. "I'm meeting him this evening. So sorry."  
  
Riis was confused for a minute until he shouted at her. She flinched at the suddenly loud noise. She gasped and opened her eyes wide when he punched her full in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.  
  
"I understand," Riis gasped out before she fell unconscious in the hay. Her guest left hurriedly.  
  
!%^)!$*)$%!)$!^#$!#^$  
  
"Run!" Van shouted as they all scattered. Dutch barked at it. Considering what Van had seen, this dragon was rather small. He suddenly wished that he had been fighting this dragon instead of the full-grown bull male in its prime that he had fought. Van drew his sword and, while it was preoccupied with curiosity over Dutch, Van lunged and desecrated the dragon's eye.  
  
"Van! Its tail!"  
  
Van saw the tail a second too late. The tail hit him and threw him bodily into a tree. It hurt to breath. He gasped for a minute, before dodging the spoke on the end of the dragon's tail. He was still gasping when he rendered the dragon's other eye useless. Van leapt away from the thrashing dragon still gasping for breath. When he landed he staggered and fell on one knee. He saw Koyo freeing his sword from his scabbard. Van gathered a breath before he yelled his son's name. He threw the sword to him before he clutched his ribs and continued to fight for air.  
  
!#%!$^&*#$@$  
  
Koyo saw the arc in which the sword was flying. He grabbed it and lunged at the dragon. Koyo stabbed the dragon between the two heat chambers in it's chest, drew it up, then around the left chamber, then down its belly as it jumped over him. He gagged as some of the blood fell in his mouth. Koyo watched as the dragon went through its death throws before going still.  
  
"Cut the energist out."  
  
Koyo walked over to the dragon and made a cut perpendicular to the one already there. He squinted as the energist glowed a bright orange. He loosened it with his sword before pulling it out of the dragon by hand. He suddenly remembered his father. He turned and ran back to where Dutch and his mother were tending to his father.  
  
!#%!^%&@%@$  
  
Hitomi saw Dutch flinch and lay his ears against his skull.  
  
"Dutch!" Hitomi whistled. She watched his ears perk back up and he turned his head toward her. "Come here, honey." The dog dutifully skirted the battle between dragon and draconian as he came to her. When he reached her he started to whine.  
  
"What is it, boy?" He just looked at Van as he panted for breath. The two watched as he called out to Koyo and threw him his sword before he grasped his ribs before collapsing.  
  
"Van!" Hitomi called as she ran to his side. She dragged him a meter or two out of the way before she asked what was wrong with him.  
  
"I." Van started. "I.it.hurts.I.can't breath."  
  
Hitomi pulled her hands away from his shirt intending to wipe them on her skirt thinking they were covered with sweat. Dutch put his paw on her forearm and she looked down to see that her hands were covered with blood.  
  
"Oh my God," Hitomi breathed.  
  
"The.energist," Van rasped out.  
  
"Cut the energist out," she shouted to Koyo. Her attention immediately went back to Van.  
  
"Van," Hitomi started gently. "I need you to lie on your back." When all he did was gasp, Dutch nosed him onto his back where he let out a breathy moan of pain. Hitomi gently pried his arms off his chest. At this point Koyo showed up. He held Van's hands above his head as Hitomi pulled his red tunic above his head to his elbows before looking back at his chest.  
  
It was clear that he had several broken ribs among the bruised ones. She grimaced when she saw a spoke of something white covered in blood. They were several days from the castle. Hitomi looked at Koyo.  
  
"Get a rope and tie his legs and arms down," Hitomi instructed. Koyo nodded and went over to their pack to follow his mother's instructions. "Van?" Her heart wrenched when he opened his pain glazed chocolate eyes. She briefly glanced at Koyo before she continued. "This is going to hurt." His eyes looked confused and Hitomi guessed it was a side effect of the pain. As Koyo had tied his legs down and had just finished tying down his arms, his eyes widened in sudden comprehension. His mouth worked but no sound came out.  
  
"I said that it would hurt, Van," Hitomi said as her eyes filled with tears. She turned away from Van and drew a knife from her pack while Koyo blindfolded his father. Van's scream echoed throughout the woods.  
  
!^$&@$@%!#!!@@#^@  
  
Riis' screams echoed throughout the catacombs. It had dawned on her that Mishi had no intention of giving her until the new moon to attempt to learn what she needed in order to grant them their wish. They thought that she was lying to them. She had never had a reason to lie in her life. And now she was slowly being beaten to death for it.  
  
She hung limply from the ceiling by a fraying rope. She cried out and flinched when the whip bit her again. She heard the rope creak above her. How much longer it would support her she didn't know. He question was answered with the next stroke that was dealt her. When the butt of the whip hit her shoulder blades, she was thrown violently forward causing the old rope to brake. She fell to the floor with a loud thud and a crack. She lay gasping in the hay.  
  
"Looks like you broke some of her ribs, Yameru," Mishi gloated.  
  
"Lerks like I did, huh?" Yameru said in his slurred speech of a drunk. The group of men laughed as they left. Riis cringed in the hay, clutching her chest and gasping.  
  
Father.was Riis' last conscious thought.  
  
!$%&*%^%^$$!%*^&%(  
  
Hitomi looked up when she heard Dutch growling. On the other side of the fire, fire light danced in familiar eyes.  
  
"It's all right, Dutch," Hitomi told him. "You can come out, Colza."  
  
Since he was beckoned, the black shadowfox slunk out of the bush, his long, bushy tail thrashing angrily as he sniffed around. Unsatisfied, he sat down and changed into the form that she had first seen him in: human like with black ears and a handsome black tail.  
  
"Where's Ceciline? I thought that I smelled her."  
  
Hitomi didn't know what Ceciline had seen in this wild creature, but then again, she was the same as he was. Society on Gaia or Earth couldn't have tamed that girl. She turned to look at the prone from of Van. Her little surgery had realigned his snapped ribs allowing him to breathe easier.  
  
"Well?"  
  
Hitomi started. "What you smell," she said looking at Van. She looked at a sleeping Koyo before looking into the two-tone eyes of the black shadowfox. She saw where one colour of Riis' eyes came from. "What you smell is your daughter." She smiled when his mouth fell open. "Cue, why don't you travel with us?" Hitomi asked. "That way you can help us rescue Riis and you can ask her about Ceciline."  
  
She watched as he considered her proposition. He eventually walked back over to the bush he had emerged out of. He retreated to his fox form before curling up on the ground and falling asleep with a "humph". Hitomi watched as Dutch walked over and curled up next to the shadowfox. Hitomi smiled and fell asleep with it still on her face.  
  
@$%&*((%^$%^#@  
  
Riis knew she was asleep, but perhaps she was near the end. In her dream as in reality, she lay prone and hurting in hay with nothing but blackness around her. Through the shadows she saw the vague outlines of objects. Her ears were fixed on a noise. Every now and then a noise was heard and her ears flicked but returned. In her dream, she whimpered and then she howled.  
  
#^*^&#^#!#!@#  
  
Cuero's ears twitched and he stopped playing chess with Dutch when he heard the whimper. The room around him blurred when he heard the howl. He closed his eyes to the cold wind that rushed all around him bringing with it far away scents of forests he had once traveled in.  
  
When he dared open his eyes, he found himself not in the forest as he expected, but in a dark, dank corridor of what appeared to be a cave. He closed his eyes and lifted his nose to sniff. He sniffed a few more times saying all the things that he smelled to himself. ::Mildew, water, excrements, hay, blood, sweat, earth, limestone. . .:: His eyes snapped open as the last scent reached his nose. He had never brought Ceciline to any cave that he could remember. At that moment what Hitomi had told him became so clear that it was painful.  
  
Following the smell Cuero carefully made his way down the corridor. Each door he passed smelled vaguely like the smell he had scented before. The further down the corridor he went, the stronger the scent was. When he reached the last door on the left, the scent was so strong it ran down the door, pooled underneath it on the hay tat stuck out, and was almost a tangible object. He gently opened the door and was met with a net of scents: blood, hay, sweat, fear, pain, hope . . . and that odd mix of his and Ceciline's scents. He looked around and saw a figure in the hay. He walked over to it and his heart nearly ripped in two.  
  
The shadowfox lying there was a ragged mess. Her clothes were ripped in various places. He couldn't see her face clearly, for her arm covered her face. His eyes traveled down her body. Her tunic he thought had once been either a green or a blue was now an angry brown with dried blood. He walked around and saw her back was a red indicating she had recently been beaten. He unconsciously whimpered. This girl stirred.  
  
#&#%@%!#!$%  
  
Riis heard a noise near her. Hoping it was Tayoru here to give her food she made an effort to get up. Using the hand that had been covering her face, she pushed herself up and slightly rolled to sit on her haunches. She fought unconsciousness but managed to open her tri-coloured eyes. She blinked several times before painfully rubbing them. Her dreams kept getting weirder. It took a moment before her conscious started on her.  
  
~What's up with you dismissing this!!~ it yelled at her.  
  
-It's just a dream,- she told it back tiredly.  
  
~Your grandmother came to you in your dream, so why not your father?~  
  
-Father?- Riis said back to her subconscious as her eyes flew open. Apparently, what had just been conversed had slipped her mind. She stared into semi familiar eyes. She knew she had seen those eyes before. Riis kept staring into the eyes as a hand was put forth and gently caressed her cheek.  
  
Like the whip biting her back, Riis finally figured out where she had seen his eyes before. The colour that was closest to the pupil was the same colour as hers was. As one was added to one, two came about.  
  
"Are you related to me?" Riis asked dumbly.  
  
"Yes," the man replied. "Yes I am." She watched as his eyes glistened with unshed tears.  
  
"What's wrong?" Riis asked. He just shook his head and began to open his mouth when her dream world blurred and dissolved into the real world.  
  
"Wake up whelp!"  
  
Riis cried out as she was whipped across her stomach this time. She felt three bites throbbing along her stomach. She hissed as she attempted to breathe correctly. She was roughly flipped onto her back, still hissing and gasping for breath, the stale air not helping much.  
  
!$^@&%@^@$#!^%^!$  
  
Mishi was about to strike her with the whip again when he noticed something about her garb. Her shorts were wearing thin and her shirt was torn in places and threadbare. Instead of whipping her, he picked her up and started to carry her out into the hall.  
  
"What are you doin', Mishi?" a guy next to Greffyn asked.  
  
"She smells," Mishi said. "And not taking baths is unhygienic." His smile was evil.  
  
A chorus of "oh's" followed him as well as his group as he made his way down the hall into the catacombs of the caves.  
  
@&*$^**(%&#~$&#  
  
As soon as Riis left her room, she squinted hard against the light. The light was dim, but being used to almost total darkness for who knows how long will do that to a person. She tried to follow the turns her carrier was taking but got rather dizzy trying. She was about to relax and attempt a nap when she smelled something through her damaged nose: water.  
  
Her cloak missing, Riis shivered as a rather cool breeze kissed her skin. She started to sniff the person carrying her when they stopped. She was about to raise a question when she was bodily thrown into the air. She called out in surprise and shrieked when her broken body met the cold water. Her magic screamed in her to let her release it. She did so as she sank in the cool water.  
  
#%&*$%#$!#*$^%  
  
Cuero and Dutch woke up and yelped as if they had been burned. This had miraculously awoken Van as well. Van opened groggy eyes to see...a big pretty blurred picture. He smiled stupidly and muttered something about fuzzy rabbit-squirrels playing checkers with chickens. He blinked a couple times. His vision started to clear and his mind was more aware. He thought about sitting up, started to do so, but was pushed back down by two sets of hands on his shoulders. He hissed his displeasure.  
  
"Take it easy, Van," a female voice said. He turned and looked at the green eyed girl, Hitomi, and his memory came back to him in a rush. He looked to his left and Koyo sat there wearing a concerned expression that, as Van thought, looked quite unbecoming of him.  
  
"What's up?" Van asked trying to figure out what was going on.  
  
"From what I gather," Van turned his head to get as good a look at the up side down shadowfox as he could as it addressed him, "from the scents on the winds and grounds as I traveled, you, Koyo, Hitomi and Half-breed here are following a group of people. For what reason, I know not.  
  
A dragon came upon your path, and you're group had to fight it because it wouldn't let you pass. The barb at the end of the dragon's tail caught you square in the chest and broke some of your ribs. Hitomi fixed you up and we are now here, waiting for you to come around and be well enough to travel once more." The fox finished somewhat angry and sulked to the brush line of the clearing.  
  
"What's with him?" Van asked.  
  
"We don't know," Koyo replied. He jerked his head in the direction of Dutch and the shadowfox. "The two of them woke up like they'd been scalded with hot water."  
  
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Hitomi braved the silence and spoke up.  
  
"Cuero said he'd stand watch for the night so we could get some proper sleep." Van nodded. While Koyo and Hitomi were readying their sleeping areas, Van beckoned his son.  
  
"Koyo," Van started looking into his mismatched eyes. "Could you please bring me my pack?" Koyo nodded. He walked over and returned in moments, relieving himself of Van's pack before he returned to his sleeping area.  
  
Van dug through his pack with gusto, looking for something that he thought would be useful in their search for Riis. As the sky darkened to full night and the day birds retreated to their roosts, Van's fingers touched something cold and slim. He looked at Hitomi. Her breathing told him he was asleep. The same diagnostic on Koyo provided Van with the same information. Gently, Van removed a silver flute from his pack.  
  
His hands left foggy prints on it as he moved his hands around, his breath on the cold metal left condensation. He brought the mouthpiece to bear and blew across and somewhat into the hole at one end. The flute sang. Van slowly closed his eyes and let the music take over his mind. It slightly reminded him of the piano music he had heard when Hitomi had talked to him that one day.  
  
Removing and replacing, his fingers slid over the wholes and keys on the shiny metal instrument. Van didn't know that he had Cuero's attention. He was reaching out to someone else. He was calling a lost soul.  
  
@%&$&**$%@!#^&#  
  
Riis was half drowned and coughing up water when she was grabbed and dragged back to her room by her braid. She heard the singing of steel and a giving before she collapsed on the ground. Laughing, the men left her. Riis, mortified, reached back for her long braid only to be accosted with a braid that, instead of easily reaching the bottom of her buttocks, only reached the bottom of her shoulder blades.  
  
Broken beyond measure, Riis broke down. She couldn't take it anymore. She cried her situation to molding, fetid straw, rock walls, and microscopic creatures. Her cry echoed down the corridors of the catacomb, becoming more and more eerie as the sound reverberated through the damp caves, water bending the sound waves.  
  
And above it all, on the wind that came in through a small hole in the top most corner of Riis' prison, a melody danced. Riis, heard a particular note and froze, tears racing down her face and her sobs soft hiccups. Her tattered ears twitched this way and that as she listened to the melody. It was beautiful, and she thought she recognized the tune. Painfully, Riis stood up and limped her way to the far wall. She painstakingly climbed the wall and pressed her face in the small hole. The music was clearer as well as the air. She took a deep breath of it as she listened.  
  
A#, B, triplet, C, repeat. Riis followed the music in her head until it dawned on her what the song was about. Her ears sagged.  
  
"Impossible Promise," Riis muttered. She gathered some clean hay from the ground, found a nice deep hole in the wall that would be invisible to the door, and hunkered down for the night. But deep down in her core being, a pile of embers flared into a small, unstable flame.  
  
R&R please!  
  
(is talking to cricktes) 


	14. In the Hall of the Mountain King

**WARNING**: This chapter contains some of the factors concerning the death of my dog, Dutch. I want to state that I do not support cruelty to animals, but I feel as if I'm trying to grasp at shadows. Dutch's maladies were originally inflicted by a van.  
  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own Escaflowne and you guys don't own Koyo, Riis, Cuero or Ceciline. I do :3  
  
**Hall of the Mountain King  
**  
"You WHAT?" Van exclaimed.  
  
"I had to, Lord Van," Solace exclaimed. "If I hadn't, Koyo might not be alive now. But that's not why I came here."  
  
"Why did you come here?" Van slapped his head at Hitomi's denseness. Yeah, she had her brilliant moments and she was relatively smart, but at times she surprised even him with her stupid uncomprehending moments.  
  
"Lord Van," Solace started, "I know where the young shadowfox is." Before anyone could open their mouths to form a coherent phrase, a knife was pressed against Solace's throat and light blue eyes were staring into the two toned eyes of Cuero.  
  
"Where is she?" Cuero's growl was barely audible over Dutch's growl.  
  
"The Hall of the Mountain King," was whispered so as not to cut his own throat with the sharp knife that glinted in the firelight. Despite his valiant efforts, a fine line of crimson welled against the silver of the blade. It withdrew and Hitomi advanced with a bandage to wrap up his wound.  
  
"Where is the Hall of the Mountain King exactly?" Van asked, a somewhat shrewd expression gracing his features. It didn't help he was wearing a torn, blood soaked shirt, his chest throbbed, and his breathing was painful and constricted. He hadn't changed his shirt since that little incident with the dragon.  
  
"The Hall of the Mountain King is a catacomb in a volcano. No one is sure if the volcano is still alive or not. Dragons off all kinds have taken residence in the caves for hundreds of year," Solace explained. "Mishi, unfortunately, killed them all or chased them out and took over the catacombs for himself." He paused uncertain whether or not to continue. "The young shadowfox is in these catacombs."  
  
Again, Solace was on his back with a very angry shadowfox above him. A strong, tanned hand was grasping his neck. The menacing shadowfox looked ready to rip out his jugular, or torture him for the information. Solace just looked at the angry eyes of the shadowfox as it growled and bared its teeth at him.  
  
"Let me explain a few things first," Solace whispered. He was dropped and Dutch barked a few things. Cuero reluctantly went and sat by him. With the reassurance that he wasn't going to get mauled by something, Solace started his story.

#!%(!#!#%!#$"That makes sense," Hitomi said as dinner was passed around for all. The telling had taken longer than the group had thought, but the information in it proved invaluable.  
  
"So my offspring is in the back of the catacombs," Cuero mused. Dutch looked thoughtfully at Cuero.  
  
"Mishi isn't exactly an...um..."nice" person I guess I could say," Solace said.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Koyo asked, sparing Solace another attack by Cuero.  
  
"Well, he's really materialistic," Solace started. "He likes power and possessions."  
  
"The Beg," Cuero ground out. "He has her for the Beg."  
  
"What's the beg?"  
  
Everyone looked at Hitomi. Her green eyes alight with firelight looked from one incredulous face to the other. The expressions irked her.  
  
"Yeah, I was here for a while, a year maybe, I don't know, but it was during a war! A WAR, PEOPLE! Those can be just a _little_ BIT DISTRACTING, you know!" She crossed her arms in a huff after her spiel was done.  
  
"You have a point there, Majesty," Solace replied as she blushed prettily.  
  
"Now," Cuero said with a dangerous light in his eyes. "We need a plan."#!%(!#!#%!#$Her shoulder was on fire. Riis was positive it was infected. Tayoru still brought food to her room and she painfully crawled out of her hiding place twice a day to eat it. But every time she left, Riis' shoulder seemed to get worse and worse. One day after eating her meal, she looked back to the wall. Deciding to conserve her meager energy supply, Riis crawled over to a dark, dank corner to await her strength.  
  
She needed to get out of hear. More than ever Riis wished that her mother was there to help her. It was always, "If only Mother. . ." Thinking of her mother reminded her of Hitomi, Van, Koyo and the others. Hitomi and Dutch especially. Something surfaced in the pool of her thoughts, something shining and green, something her mother had told her. Looking into that memory, Riis got a shock.  
  
Her mother, Ceciline, looked down at her, snuggling into bed in her favorite night shirt.  
  
"What should I tell you tonight, kit?" the black shadowfox had asked her.  
  
"Something magical!!" she had happily replied.  
  
"When I was younger, I met a Seer. . ."  
  
"Maybe if I can get a hold of Hitomi," Riis whispered to the dank straw. "I might be able to get out of here. . ."#!%(!#!#%!#$_The first thing she noticed was that it was dark, and then the stench of the place hit her full force, making her gag.  
  
"What is this place?" Hitomi asked as she vainly covered her nose.  
  
"It's my prison," a voice responded.  
  
"Wha........." Hitomi trailed off as events played out.  
  
The door burst open, sending in cascades of light and heat.  
  
"A week, until the Mountain King returns to his castle," the voice stated. "This is where I'll be..."  
  
Colours exploded into her vision. Trees, plants, streams, ponds, and glades that faded into more rugged terrain: rocks, crags, and boulders. A waterfall caught her attention, as did the gaping maw in the side of a mountain of some kind. The winding passages of the mountain were burned into her mind as she flew through them, pulled by an unseen force.  
  
Before she knew it, Hitomi was standing before a green door, the only green door in the place. Protesting, the door opened and before her at a table sat Riis, one arm held close, the other, fumbling with a spoon to eat some kind of soup. Tri-coloured eyes tinged red turned to her. Her mouth moved as the eyes narrowed...  
_  
"Help me........."  
  
Hitomi fainted.#!%(!#!#%!#$A brilliant flash of light made the travelers stop. When their vision cleared, Hitomi muttered something and collapsed on hands and knees with something glowing faintly in her hand. Van, upon kneeling for further inspection, found that in her hand she held the pendant that he had left on his chest of drawers back at the castle in Fanelia. How had the powerful trinket found its way into the middle of the woods?  
  
His answer came when the recently acquired drag-energist pulsed. In the distance, an animal howled something sad to the listening world while another something roared. Van sighed. Hitomi came around. Dutch was sniffing the wind. Cuero was tense while reading the wind. Solace just looked lost while Koyo was looking at the stars and the distant horizon that was blocked by a huge, hulking figure.  
  
"It seems," he said, breaking the tense silence, "that we have reached the Hall of the Mountain King."  
  
After eating a cold meal, Hitomi told Van her vision in as much detail as she could remember, for they would need the information when they infiltrated the strong hold of Mishi to retrieve Riis, hoping the girl was still alive............and if not, then she prayed for those that would surely meet their deaths on the morrow.#!%(!#!#%!#$Mishi's men were uneasy, and he'd like to think that it was because of his anger, but due to the fact that he was nervous too, he knew it wasn't. A tremendous roar of pure, primordial anger echoed down the corridors. Gathering those he could, Mishi headed towards the area of the caverns where he had first placed the shadowfox girl.#!%(!#!#%!#$"Damn," Solace cursed. "He returned." The troupe looked at the blood and gore that the dragon had left behind. It was plain that a powerful dragon had gone through and by how the attacks were carried out, it was a water dragon, and Van wondered why a water dragon would be so far away from water. Ever wary, the small group made their way into the catacombs.

The acoustics in the cave were amazing. Their ever carefully placed footsteps echoed in the huge cavern. The further in they went, the damper and dirtier the air got. Everything was stained red, the substance polluting the water creating puddles of red throughout the cave as the troupe ventured further into the catacombs of the cave. At a point where the puddles gathered were ankle deep, their path split into several different tunnels.

"Sooo..." Solace replied. His statement echoed.

"Where do we go?" Koyo asked. Van seemed deep in thought. He walked from the mouth of one cave to the other, feeling the air and sniffing trying to find something that would lead him to his enemy. He was soon joined by Dutch and Cuero. Dutch whined. He probably couldn't scent anything but the different bloods that painted the ceilings, walls and floor. Cuero, in his pacing, stopped in front of a particularly bloody one.

"This way." The black shadowfox pointed. Van seemed to hesitate for a moment before he started down the path, his hand on his sword that was loose in its scabbard.

They walked for what seemed like an eternity in their wary and tense states. They eventually came to a pool. Water fed it through various springs that cascaded down the walls. The pool emptied somewhere in a thundering rush. But in the middle of that pool lounged the biggest dragon Van had ever seen: the biggest dragon that anyone had ever seen. It was probably safe to say the dragon was at least a hundred some odd years old. They, following Cuero, slowly edged their way around the pool.

Almost to the continuation of the tunnel, the great blue dragon lifted its head and revealed malicious, evil eyes. The group froze, unsure of what to do. Attacking would surely get them killed. The dragon looked from one to the next, seeming to size them up. Van felt as if his soul was being read. Cuero felt as if his mind was being shredded. The dragon, apparently found them unthreatening for he returned to his head to whence it came. Exhaling a breath they hadn't known they'd been holding, the group hurried into the next tunnel.

#!%(!#!#%!#$Riis was hiding. She had scented Mishi and a few of his men drenched in anger tinged fear as they headed her way. She had dragged herself back into her crevice so as not to put herself in another compromising situation. Mishi had cursed extensively upon finding her absence. He had only a handful of men and Tayoru with him in her room.

One of her magics were triggered, confusing her to no end. Only someone else who knew magic could trigger it. Thinking, she could only come to the conclusion that the magic recognized Hitomi's Seer magic.

Scenting the air to get an idea of what Mishi and his boys were up to, she was struck by fear. Her ears erect and forward, listening to the rustle of straw. They were looking for her. Changing into fox form, Riis limped to the back of the crevice, silently thanking her smallness. With a random thought on how she should get a growth spurt soon, Riis fell into a light sleep.

#!%(!#!#%!#$Hitomi and Cuero shivered while Dutch paused mid stride as they started uncertainly down a fork in the path. Cuero paused momentarily to converse with Dutch. Hitomi just watched the two. Van, thinking it was just something Dutch had smelled, dismissed it. Koyo was looking around. He seemed to feel caged this deep in the catacombs. Solace looked like he wanted to get this done and over with. Van's eyes softened. He probably had a family somewhere he wanted to get back to.

When they continued walking, Van suddenly became curious. Wanting to know what had transpired, Van approached Hitomi on the subject.

"Dutch and I felt something," Hitomi responded. "Cuero had recognized the type of magic as that of a shadowfox. I had a flash from my vision, and Cuero had recognized the spell weave as that of Ceciline. Riis set the magic there. She wanted us to find her. I know were to find her from the vision."

"So that's why the three of you are at the front?" Van asked. His curiosity was quenched and kindled at the same time. If shadowfox could use magic, certainly other creatures could. He started to wonder on how dragons used their abilities as they continued down tunnels, passed crags and waterfalls, through overhangs, and over various types and manners of seeking magic.

They eventually came to a tunnel that looked civilized. Torches burned, albeit low, in sconces on the walls. There were doors to the caverns and rooms off of the main tunnel, each a different colour. They looked at all the doors, each with straw poking out.

"Sooo. . . which door is it?" Koyo ventured, the hair on the nape of his neck standing up.

"The green one, at the end of the hall on the left," Hitomi told them matter-of-factly. Hitomi retreated to the back of the group as they cautiously made their way down the hall, their carefully placed steps making little sound on the hard packed dirt floor. Cuero, at the head of the group, was the first to the door. He looked back at the others that had their swords drawn. They each gave him a nod. With that, he turned back to the door, opened it, and leapt in, a mass of black furred hate.

#!%(!#!#%!#$Mishi and his boys were playing cards on Riis' table, waiting for the obstinate fox to show itself. They were unprepared for the sudden light and didn't realize they were under attack until one of their number, Jenks, fell dead to the floor. The people who were at the table jumped up, swords drawn and launched themselves at the first person they saw come through the room: Van.

Koyo found himself being circled by two enemies that were easily twice his size. They soon entered a complicated dance of destiny. The outcome would decide who lived to see the sun and moon rise the loser to face death. With battle cries, the two launched themselves at Koyo who met their attack with the singing of steel.

Solace found himself killing those that attempted to leave or hurt himself and Hitomi while Mishi found himself staring at vulpine and canine eyes. Silver-sienna and perfect amber stared evenly at angry blue. Muscles were taunt with tension, ready for dodge or attack. Mishi took a step forward. The shadowfox seemed to disappear as the dog lunged. Mishi, sword forgotten, found himself battling with fur and teeth.

#!%(!#!#%!#$Van was not doing well. His ribs were cracked or broken and he had involved himself in swordplay. He scowled darkly as he again blocked a complicated attack from his opponents. Sweat beaded on his forehead and ran down his neck. His breathing was his shallow pants. If something didn't happen soon, he'd be dead. He knew if he didn't do something or someone helped him, he'd be killed.

Van had managed to get his opponents down to one, and they circled each other warily. Catching his foot, Van fell hard. Mentally cursing, Van turned and redirected the sword from a vital area. Blood stained the straw as his enemy stared into his eyes with something close to victory in hers. Van felt the energist pulse.

Time seemed to slow as his enemy brought her sword up intent to kill him. A sword blossomed in her stomach. She looked down, her sword falling from her hands. The sword was pulled out and she fell to her knees. Coughing, she beckoned Van forward. She hastily wiped blood off her chin before she spoke.

"She's in the crevice," the woman state. "Halfway . . . up the back wall . . . near where it meets the . . . the right one." The woman closed her eyes and smiled as death took her.

Van looked up into Koyo's eyes. His son helped him to his feet. A sharp yelp turned them sharply around. Hitomi could be heard gasping from the hallway. Mishi had knocked Dutch painfully on the head. As the dog struggled up on three legs, his right front one had been rendered useless, Cuero launched himself at Mishi's back. The group watched in horrified fascination as Mishi turned and attempted to get the clawing mass of sinew and fur off his back. All his action did was expose his throat and throw himself off balance. Mishi fell as Cuero clawed his way to Mishi's throat. Van felt Hitomi bury her head in the back of his shirt as Cuero killed how predatory animals killed.

With his fangs dripping blood, Cuero spoke in harsh, grating tones. "Where is my kit?"

"In the crevice," Van started to repeat, "halfway up the back wall near where it meets the right one."

The fox turned and clambered up the wall, sniffing around for the crevice. Practically in the corner of the two walls did the fox disappear from sight. Cuero emerged sometime later, with a small black bundle in his mouth. He silently headed for the door.  
  
#!%(!#!#%!#$  
  
While Cuero searched for Riis, Koyo and Van went to see to Dutch. The dog was panting, holding his right foreleg up. When they neared him, they saw that his foreleg was severed quite badly and he was bleeding profusely. Koyo applied pressure as Van took his shirt off and wrapped it around the dog's leg. Picking the dog up, Van slung Dutch as carefully as he could over his shoulders and followed Cuero out of the cave.


	15. Prologue

**Prologue: Dreaming of Party Night**  
  
_"Come on, Riis!" Ceciline shouted from the entrance hall. "You're going to make us late!"  
  
"Coming Mom!" Riis shouted back. Entering the entrance hall with a small satchel, her mother smiled as she shook her head. Riis would never learn. Exiting the house, they made their way to the garage. Hopping into Ceciline's truck, the happy pair of shadowfox started to laugh at some random song on the radio as they drove off.  
  
"Glad you could make it, Ceciline!" an excited person exclaimed as she answered the door. "Who's your friend?" The question was asked of Ceciline as soon as the person at the door had noticed Riis.  
  
"Terri, this is my daughter, Riis," Ceciline started in way of introduction. "Riis, this is a good friend of mine from high school."  
  
"Pleased to meet you," Riis stated as she shook hands with Terri.  
  
"The pleasure is all mine," Terri replied with an obnoxious smile. The smile caused Riis to wonder if it was stuck on her face.  
  
Getting ushered inside, Riis was introduced to a few people before she excused herself on account of needing to use the facilities. Following the directions given to her by Terri, Riis made her way down a hallway, her tail swishing in frustration, hidden to those unskilled in magic by magic.  
  
Riis was stopped in her quest to the bathroom by a beautiful window. The window itself was open, but on the sill were a variety of flowers that she hadn't seen before. By how they grew, Riis assumed them to be orchids. Looking at them, she noticed that they were not what they appeared to be. The purple orchids were actually white orchids with a variety of purple stripes and splotches.  
  
Movement outside caught her attention. Focusing outside, she noticed the blurs were in reality children, kids about her age. She smiled when they all started to laugh at a joke someone had told.  
  
"Hey! You in the window!"  
  
Riis looked around and found a boy waving at her.  
  
"Use the stairs in the door behind you!"  
  
The orchids and bathroom be damned, she wanted out of the house! Using the door the kid had told her of, Riis descended a set of stairs and emerged into the night. Crickets chirped and fireflies shone their sporadic lights in the grassy field just beyond the mowed lawn.  
  
"You looked like you needed to escape the confines of the house," the same boy explained. "We're playing hide and go seek. The winner decides what we get to do next."  
  
"'Kay," Riis replied. "Are there any boundaries?"  
  
"No field or woods. Just mowed area," a girl supplied. "the crabapple tree is safe."  
  
"Gotcha."  
  
Riis proved to be the best in hide and go seek. She didn't know what the others wanted to do and she didn't really care what they did. She chose the boy that had called her outside to choose something to do. And so they played tag, spin the bottle, truth or dare?, hide and go seek, capture the flag and exchanged jokes and stories in between when someone went on a food and drink run. Riis learned all their names and a little bit about the other kids and they in tern learned a bit about her. She didn't reveal what she really was, but then again, they didn't really need to know. All too soon it seemed, the evening faded into night and in the wee hours of the morning, Ceciline called out to Riis and, together they headed to their truck with every intention on going home.  
  
"How was your evening, Mother?" Riis asked as she stifled a yawn.  
  
"Probably not as fun as yours," Ceciline replied with a smile. "I bet you had a lot of fun playing with the human kids."  
  
"You have no idea," Riis replied.  
  
As Riis looked out the window at the scenery, Ceciline was slightly worried. It was the weekend after college had gotten out for spring break. Where there was a break and college students, there were parties and drinks. Deadly combination when traveling was mixed with that. Ceciline was about to ask Riis what she wanted to do on the morrow when lights blinded her. She heard a crash, a scream, then knew nothing other than peaceful darkness . . . . . ._


	16. Holes in the Floor of Heaven

"...'Cause there's holes in the floor of Heaven  
and her tears are pourin' down  
that's how you know she's watchin'  
wishin' she could be here now  
And sometimes if you're lonely  
just remember she can see  
there's holes in the floor of Heaven  
and she's watchin' over you and me."

Steve Wariner from his song "Holes in the Floor of Heaven"

**Holes in the Floor of Heaven  
**  
Riis slowly opened her eyes. She hurt, everywhere. A bird chirped and she lazily looked in that direction. From what she saw in that brief glance, she was back in her room in Fanelia. Sighing, the bird taking wing, Riis closed her eyes again. She was so tired . . .  
  
Koyo was dejected. This morning Riis had woken up only to fall back asleep again. He remembered that her shoulder seemed to be shattered, that she'd probably never be able to use her arm again. Cuero had done something that had lessened the swelling, but had also forced him out of his fox form. They had then sent Solace to Austuria to see if Millerna could come to Fanelia on medical call. When the group had arrived, Millerna set about fixing up Riis while Van was reprimanded by his advisors. Van thanked Millerna profusely when she called him into the "operating" room.  
  
When they had asked her to look at Dutch, Millerna obliged, but told them not to keep their hopes up. She wasn't a vet. After an examination, she told the group with shimmering eyes that she couldn't do anything. Dutch had died shortly there after from complications. They had buried Dutch at the back of the rose garden at the end of the rows of Dragon's tooth and Dragon's bane, hoping his spirit would be at ease.  
  
That was two days ago, and all Koyo could do was stare out the window at the rose garden. Eventually, when his stomach growled, he decided he needed to eat, and, just maybe, he'd go and visit Riis after that.

* * *

It was close to a week after the group's return to Fanelia that Riis managed to pull herself out of bed in time to join everyone for breakfast. With each step carefully placed, Riis limped her way to her seat next to Hitomi where she had sat to eat her first meal in Fanelia. Easing carefully onto the edge of her chair the young shadowfox was straight as a board. She ate her meal in silence, eating whatever was on her plate without question or a second glance. When she was done, she waited until Van got up before she excused herself.  
  
She was always in her room these days. Cuero could be found basking on her balcony or under the potted plants at the west end of it. A few of the maids and servants were a bit nervous with him around, not knowing why a shadowfox, who usually hid in the forests, would suddenly take a fancy to living in the king's palace. They usually dismissed it if someone brought it up, though. They didn't like talking bad about someone who had provided for them.  
  
On a day that the skies were overcast, Koyo managed to see Riis. He knocked softly on her door, hoping not to disturb her. He was a little surprised when Cuero answered the door, then remembered that he was her father and she probably couldn't get around easily.  
  
"I wish to visit with Lady Riis, if I may," Koyo asked.  
  
"Let me ask her." Cuero softly shut the door and his relayed message could be barely heard through the thick wood of the door. He supposed she replied for the door opened again and Cuero admitted him into her room. He excused himself to get some water before he closed the door behind him. Koyo, alone, walked toward Riis.  
  
Her torso was completely bandaged from her waist to her neck. Her one arm was in a sling and the other was bandaged heavily on the lower part. She had a few bandages on her face, and the tops of her ears were bandaged. She looked a mess, but in reality she could be much worse off, or dead for that matter.  
  
He noticed her ear flick back as he situated himself in a whicker chair near her bed. She carefully turned around and smiled at him.  
  
"I was wondering when you'd come to see me," she said softly. "Hitomi had come to see me this morning, so I figured you wouldn't be too far behind." Her eyes shone with a soft light.  
  
"Well, I'm glad that I could make you smile," he replied in kind. If she was talking quietly, then her ears probably still hurt. He chanced a brief glance at her ears. She noticed and her smile faded some.  
  
"Yeah, they're still a bit sore," Riis stated. "Just like my back."  
  
An uncomfortable silence settled between the two before she asked something that he really didn't want to answer.  
  
"I asked Hitomi earlier where Dutch was," Riis started in her quiet manner. "She said he had gone off chasing one of the odd animals when Van had taken him on a walk through the roses." Koyo just sat in silence. "Is he back yet?"  
  
"I think one of the gardeners mentioned seeing him earlier today when I went to the outdoor courts," Koyo replied. "I'm sure he'll be back by this evening."  
  
Riis smiled brightly at him. "Could you ask Van to bring him by later? I'm sure he'd be worried about me, what with me being in and out all the time."  
  
"'In and out'?" Koyo asked.  
  
"Um . . . I think I'm going to take a nap now," Riis replied. She looked around the room with her lower lip in her teeth. It was obvious she let something slip. "Could you, um, please excuse yourself?"  
  
"Sure." Koyo stood up and made his way to the door. Before he left he glanced back to see Riis getting herself situated on her side. His eyes became sad at what he had to tell his father. His father didn't need another burden on him. Sighing, Koyo carefully closed the door and headed down the hall.

* * *

Cuero joined them for dinner that night with the excuse of Riis was sleeping. Dinner was tense to say the lease, since Van was entertaining guests. The other lords and princes were a bit nervous of the shadowfox. Shadowfox were in legends and myths after all. Cuero, feeling the tension he had caused, told Van in a note from a servant that he would be willing to grant a reasonable boon to his guests for upsetting them.  
  
Van sighed as he made his way out of the dining room. The meal had been tense for a while, but, then again, he had forgotten that Cuero occasionally joined them, albeit late, for meals. He should have told the shadowfox that he had guests. He put his thoughts away for a later time and stretched, something most unbecoming of a king, in the middle of the hallway. Hearing running footsteps behind him, Van turned around mid stretch to see Koyo running towards him.  
  
"Koyo," Van nodded his head in acknowledgement.  
  
"Father," Koyo replied in kind. "I don't know if this is good news, but I visited Riis earlier today."  
  
"And?" Van felt there was something that Koyo wanted to tell him, and yet he didn't want to say.  
  
"Well, she asked about Dutch." He said it as if it was obvious.  
  
"And what happened? What did you say?"  
  
"Riis said that mother had visited her before me and mother had told her that he had run off after something," Koyo started. "I said that the gardeners had seen him and you probably had him."  
  
"Oh . . . oh, I think I know what you're getting at," Van said as he narrowed his eyes.  
  
"I just couldn't tell her, father!" Koyo hissed as a servant walked by them.  
  
Uncomfortable silence settled over the Draconians as more servants walked past.  
  
"Follow me, please," Van commanded as he turned and felt Koyo pause and follow behind him as Van led him to a small conference room. Once seated, Van started the conversation again.  
  
"The servants were cleaning the dining hall and a subject as touchy as this," Van explained, "I felt didn't need to become maids' gossip." He gave a wry grin. "Everybody knows where that ends up."  
  
Koyo nodded.  
  
"You said earlier that Riis said something that should be brought to my attention?" Van asked, changing the subject.  
  
Koyo bowed his head briefly. "Yes, father. She acted like she didn't know Dutch was . . . you know. Dead. She said that she thought that he would be worried about her because she had been 'in and out'. Those were her exact words."  
  
Van frowned. She had never mentioned that to Hitomi, and Hitomi had told him all about her conversation.  
  
"I see," Van replied, masking his emotions. He steepled his fingers as he thought. "I'll talk to her tomorrow before my meetings. I'll tell her then."  
  
Koyo nodded. With the tension gone, Koyo smiled at his father, who returned his smile whole heartedly. Bidding good night to each other, Koyo and Van went their ways.

* * *

Riis opened her eyes. The outside light showed that it was around dawn time. Something had woken her up. Carefully sitting up, Riis looked around, her ears swiveling to find the noise. A soft rapt on her door caused her ears to fix themselves in that direction and her eyes to flick towards the door.  
  
"Come in," she called softly. Riis watched Van enter her room clad in his red shirt and khaki pants, boots and riding gloves. His sword was at his waist and there was an air about him that caused her to become wary. She bowed her head. "Good morning, King Van."  
  
Van nodded. "Good morning, Riis Zannen."  
  
There was an uncomfortable pause. Van didn't know what to say to start his bad news off. Riis didn't help by staring at him with her predatory eyes.  
  
"It's Dutch, isn't it?" Riis asks, her tri-coloured eyes shining with unshed tears.  
  
"Riis, I'm sorry but . . . " Van's shoulders slumped as he watched Riis turn around, her back now to him. Her shoulders started to shake and he could hear muffled sobs. Carefully, not exactly knowing what to do, Van made his way to Riis' bed. "Riis?"  
  
"He was my only family," Riis sobbed out. "I convinced my mother to let me get him from a friend. She had rescued him from an abusive house. He talked to me and I talked to him. He was like my little brother."  
  
Van sat down next to her, careful of her injuries. She leaned into him sobbing outright. She pulled away and, looking up at him, managed a sad smile.  
  
"I was so happy. He was a beautiful dog. I was so wrapped up in having the prettiest dog in town. I never thought about anything like this," she sniffed. "I did have a dream though."  
  
"A dream?" Van asked, his voice slightly surprised.  
  
"Yes," Riis replied. "When I was in Japan with Hitomi . . . and when I was in and out." Riis sniffed. "Dutch had run off, and I followed him. When I was walking back to the house, Dutch ran across the street after me. A van hit him, breaking his leg and hitting his head. I had tried to get him to a vet." Riis' voice wavered and her vision blurred. "This kind gentleman had helped me, driving me to various vets, trying to find one that was open. In the end, when we found one that was open, he told me the damage to Dutch was too extensive for what he usually handled."  
  
Van patted her shoulder. She cried. Van thought to himself that it was almost the same scenario with what they had asked Millerna to do. His advisor found him with the crying shadowfox on his shoulder when he was called to his meetings. Thunder rolled in warning as rain soon followed. The wind howled around the castle. 


	17. Noisome Mutt of the Forbidden Woods

**

* * *

The Noisome Mutt of the Forbidden Woods**

Van, yet again, was searching for Koyo. He had just found out from training with his soldiers that no one had seen Koyo down at the practice fields for some time. Slightly angered that his son wasn't practicing, he went looking for him. When Van ended where he had begun, after searching the whole castle, he vented his frustration. Ripping his shirt off, Van spun opened the doors and took to the air.

Van eventually found Koyo with Riis in the back of the flower gardens where Dutch was resting. He didn't want to disturb them, since he didn't know if it was Riis' first time to the grave or not. Thinking about graves, Van thought that perhaps he should visit his parents, Folken, and Escaflowne . . .

* * *

"So that's what happened?" Koyo asked softly. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

"Yep," Riis replied. "I don't fancy lying all that much and I go out of my way not to lie unless it's absolutely necessary." A mischievous look took her features. "But I know how to tell if someone is lying."

"That's awesome!!" Koyo exclaimed. Koyo continued without thinking. "You should sit in on meetings. It would help Fanelia a lot to know who is trying to use us and who's being genuine."

A sad expression stole over Riis' face. "Yeah . . ."

_She must be thinking,_ Koyo thought. He really didn't like seeing her suffer. Looking away, Koyo started to devise a plan of his own. Realizing he could do something, Koyo thought it was close to dinner and Riis replied that she wouldn't mind eating with them this evening. With a smile that didn't reach her eyes, Riis followed Koyo to the castle.

* * *

_She was crying again,_ Cuero thought as he scented the wind. But what pained him the most was that he couldn't return to his kit. The clan had called him back to the village and they were now debating what to do with the rogue shadowfox, his daughter. Shaking his head, he returned to his dwelling.

* * *

Riis returned to her room, deep in thought and close to tears. Her thoughts were halted by a package on her bed, but not her tears. Careful and with ears swiveling listening around for anything, Riis walked to the bed. Mindful of her ankle, it was still sore despite the more severe damage done to it being healed, Riis carefully sat on the bed. Carefully removing the paper from around it, Riis gasped as her eyes filled with tears anew.

The package the Riis had opened contained several paintings. One was Dutch just standing like a show dog. Another was of him jumping. A third one was him next to a Gaean horse and rider. A fourth was of him snarling as he attacked something. His colouring was almost exact. The paintings were done so well Riis could have sworn that they were photographs.

With her attention focused on the paintings, Riis almost didn't notice the slip of parchment that fell from one of the paintings. Picking it up, Riis smiled as she read it:

_Riis,_

_I know that I can't give you back your dog that you lost. I'm sorry that this did occur, and that you're suffering from it, but please accept this act of mine. _

_Some of the guys and I went out hunting yesterday and we flushed up a particular animal that you might take a fancy to. Since we were hunting, we killed it, only to find its offspring rambling up behind. One of the guys felt sorry for it, and some of the other wanted to kill it, just to put it out of it's misery. I thought of you, and how you told me about that . . . hierarchy authority thing and thought you might like it. _

_If you would care to take a look at it, come find me sometime tomorrow and just give me this note if you don't know what to say. _

_Have a good evening,_

_Koyo Vin de Fanel_

Smiling, Riis set the pictures on the writing desk in her room before she snuggled into bed. That night she dreamed, her mind free from the torments that had previously plagued it.

* * *

Koyo was exiting a meeting when he almost ran into Riis who was leaning against the door jam.

"How did you find me?" Koyo exclaimed. Van and Hitomi, along with a few other diplomats were walking down the corridor the opposite way, leaving the same meeting. Riis smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"You forget," she started as she tapped her nose, "that I'm a fox."

"Right . . ." Koyo replied, slightly put off that he couldn't hide anywhere. "Did you need me for something?"

Blushing slightly, Koyo thought that perhaps because she had interrupted something, Riis handed him a crumpled and folded piece of paper. Puzzled, as soon as he opened it and identified his writing, motioned her to follow him as he started to walk down the corridor.

* * *

The barking was what reached Riis' ears before they had even exited the castle. Curious now, she asked Koyo where they were going. He only smiled and replied with a "you'll see."

He opened the doors and she wasn't surprised to see that they were in the castle's kennels. Koyo had to stop every now and then to assure some dogs, but Riis was fascinated. She hadn't really paid attention to Fanelian, or Gaean, dogs. Now that she got a good look at them, she thought that she recognized some. There was a breed that looked a lot like a greyhound. They kept to the back of their kennel and ignored her. Some looked like Doberman pinchers, but slightly smaller. She recognized something that looked like a beagle and maybe a border collie, but other than that, the other breeds were alien to her.

Riis caught up to Koyo who had stopped in front of a shed. The shed was made of old, weathered wood that had some scorch marks here and there. She heard some scuffling noises and the sound of a chain coming from inside it. He looked at her as if he were asking her if she were ready. Nodding her head, Koyo turned around and cautiously opened the door.

Savage growling greeted them as Koyo quickly shut the door behind them. When her eyes adjusted she couldn't believe what was in front of her.

"Oh . . . my God," Riis whispered as she looked at the wolf in front of her. At least, it kind of resembled a wolf. She turned to Koyo. "Is there some way to light this room better?"

He shook his head. "No. He broke the lamps when we first brought him in. No one has entered since then." Riis nodded. Koyo retreated to a far corner. He was uncomfortable in this shed, but if it made Riis happy, he couldn't leave. He watched from his safe spot farthest from the animal he could get. Koyo suddenly blinked. He head heard Riis growling, but now where she had been standing moments before stood a huge black fox. The fur on it's back was slowly growing back as its wounds healed. The fox snarled as its hackles rose.

"_Shut UP already!!" _Riis snarled at the animal. Said animal turned its attention from the dove to the huge black fox that was before him.

"_What do you want?" _the animal snarled back. His hackles rose as he lowered his head.

"_How dare you talk to a black shadowfox like that!" _Riis snarled as she strode forward, her tail swishing angrily as she lowered her head. "_I should kill you for it."_

The animal looked taken aback. His hackles fell and his tail returned to normal size. He dipped his head in a bow. _"I'm sorry for the insolence. I have never scented my own kind since I was disowned."_

It was Riis' turn to be surprised. Hers, though, was executed with more finesse. Brining her head up and lowering her hackles, she laid down, crossing her forepaws. "_Continue, if you will,"_ she yipped.

"_My mother was a fox-dog," _the animal started. _"Her mother had loved one of the dogs in town and, against her clan, rutted with him. Instead of bearing a litter or kits, she only had my mother. My mother, since she had no humanoid form, turned into my grandmother's underling. So states the Laws of White Shadowfox that those who are born and hold no humanoid form must become underlings or be disowned."_ He paused, gathered his thoughts before he continued.

"_My father was a wolf mix. His pack runs in the woods. Wood wolves have forest colours: black, brown, and tawny. Never white. Never grey. Those colours belonged to the mountain wolves. My father looked like a Mountain wolf, but he had some brown and black on him. He wasn't a Woods wolf and he wasn't a Mountain wolf, so he, like his mother once did, ran with both. _

"_I don't know how he met my mother. I know they rutted in a glen. My father had taken me there once before he met his untimely end."_ The animal spit to the side. _"Anyway, I know that I had brothers and sisters. I think the white shadowfox killed them because my first visual memory of my mother was her covered in scars with a deep sadness in her eyes. _

"_When I turned two, the clan disowned me and I turned to find my father. I ran with his pack for two years before he was killed and I was chased over to the Forbidden Wood and the Gossamer Wood. I soon got a reputation of being the Noisome Mutt of the Forbidden Woods."_ He looked back at her. She stared evenly back at him.

He must have seen something in her eyes, for he bowed low, much like a stretch. "_If it is your will,"_ he started uncertainly. He looked about. "_I would have no qualms if you were to make me your underling. And . . ."_ he drifted off. He didn't want to overstep his boundaries. "_and I would like to see the sadness in your eyes disappear."_

"_You should be more careful in the future, Hisomu,"_ Riis explained, a smile tugging on her lips. "_I may not be so forgiving in the future."_ She was humanoid in the blink of an eye and walking toward Hisomu who was wagging his tail enthusiastically.

"_How did you know my name?"_ Hisomu asked as Riis undid his collar.

"A black shadowfox had pounced on you in the Gossamer Woods on accident thinking you were someone else," Riis explained. "That shadowfox was my mother."

"_So you're the shadowfox born on the Mystic Moon,"_ Hisomu growled back. He shook. It felt so good to be out of his collar.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!!?" Koyo shrieked. The shed exploded with magic. Riis, frightened from Koyo's outburst let out a wash of lethal defensive magic. Koyo, who was unprepared for sudden onslaught of magic, listened to his instincts and his wings sprouted in an explosion of light and feathers. The extra feathers burned up in the magic and nullified it.

"For Heaven's sake, Koyo, don't scare me like that!" Riis exclaimed, a hand over her heart. "I could have killed you."

Koyo was just staring at her.

"Oh, my mother would frown at my manners," Riis exclaimed. "Koyo, this is Hisomu, also known as the Noisome Mutt of the Forbidden Woods. Hisomu, this is Koyo. Koyo is the first crown prince of Fanelia."

Koyo looked at Riis as if she were crazy. He looked back at Hisomu, the reputed Noisome Mutt of the Forbidden Woods. He had heard stories about him, but he had never actually seen him. And to think that his hunting group had caught him on accident! Koyo watched at Hisomu bowed to him.

"Now, what's for dinner?" Riis asked. She smiled at him as he led her back through the kennels to the castle. He smiled back and noted that this was the first smile in a long time that actually reached her tri-coloured eyes.

* * *

A few days later, a letter arrived at the castle for Riis. Curious, since the only hint it gave as to its sender was a paw print, Riis, with Van and Koyo in a conference room, opened it.

"_To Riis Zannen, _

_Daughter of Ceciline Verillion le Su Zannen _

_From the Black Shadowfox tribe Shii-nu Rashkan of the Tenkuu Wood_

_I, Shizstu, representing the High council of Seven, write you the results of their debate."_

"I didn't know I was the subject of a debate," Riis replied.

"Must be the reason for Cuero disappearing," Koyo stated rather blandly.

"Must be," Riis replied with the hint of a smile.

"Continue, please?" Van more or less commanded.

Chastised, Riis continued.

"_The High council of Seven was torn between what to do with you to be honest. A Cuero Colza, known to be a Riis Zannen's sire, put in a suggestion for you to be an ambassador to the country you have chosen to live in, a little country known as Fanelia. _

"_The council thought, that since the country is still not what it used to be, that it might need some aide. The council decided to let Riis Zannen stay in Fanelia under these conditions:_

"_One, Riis must sit in on meetings, and tell King Van Slanzer de Fanel if his guests are true or not. _

"_Two, to be safe, you must act the part of a pet. We of the council, representatives, and royal blood like yourself know this is degrading, but it must be done for self preservation._

"_Three, your magic must be used discreetly. If some dignitary or peasant recognizes you and chants the boon, you must ask either Crown Prince Koyo Vin de Fanel or King Van Slanzer de Fanel for permission first. _

"_Those are the conditions. We hope this letter finds you well. We will expect a letter from you by means of the Noisome Mutt at the beginning of Summer._

_Sincerely Yours,_

_The High Council of Seven"_

"After that it just goes onto list the names of the members of the council, my fathers name, the representatives, blah, blah, blah," Riis explained as she finished her reading, waving her hand around in the air as she refolded the letter.

Koyo nodded as he took in what the letter said. Van just sat back in his chair, studying Riis and thinking a bit. She was a magical creature after all, and they had special needs....

"Riis," Van began, "what form are you most comfortable in?"

"I was born a kit," Riis started out slowly, hoping Van would pick up on her hint. He just seemed to be thinking really hard. Riis got the funniest picture of him thinking with fire and smoke coming out of his ears.

"So," Van's voice had her attention back on the real world. "Would you be interested in lounging at the foot of my chair all day with a nice, leather collar?"

Riis' eyes turned icy, much like that of a stalking predator. "I think we can arrange something."


	18. Rumor

**The Rumor**

Who exactly started the rumors and stories is unknown, and when they were started is uncertain, but what is known is that the king of Fanelia has a new hound. The animal is black with tall ears and tri-coloured eyes. One story says that the animal is a god and it is judging the people of Gaea starting with Fanelia. Another story calls the animal the king's late brother, Folken's, reincarnation. Yet another rumor has it that the animal came from the Mystic Moon of its own volition. Only the King of Fanelia himself knows the truth of the animal's origin.


	19. Heat

Heat

It had only been a short time since the ordeal with Mishi had been resolved. There had been an issue to the people of Fanelia and the traders that traveled through the back woods of Fanelia that a new water dragon had moved into the area. The inhabitants were advised to use caution and be wary if they had business in the forest. Despite the warnings, the people of Gaia continued to travel as they always had.

* * *

Riis, on the eve of her birthday of seventeen, was ecstatic. The maids and servants were ever wary of the black shape that ran down the halls and, basically, wrecked the careful order that they were paid to keep. Halfway through the day, the maids were in such a state of mind, they sent a messenger to the king… 

"RIIS!" The animal in question, jumped. HE wasn't supposed to find out what she was doing. She felt footsteps coming down the corridor in her direction. Using a recently acquired spell, Riis disappeared long enough to get away from her pursuers. Reappearing in a different corridor in the north wing, Riis continued her escapade.

It was as the full moon was rising that Koyo found Riis in the rose garden walking among the various roses. They way the moonlight shone on the flowers made it appear as if they were touched with silver. She was wearing clothes that he'd never seen before. They looked almost ceremonial. Koyo watched as she stopped next to the two bushes that she liked the most; the two white rose bushes furthest from the castle.

He, following his father's orders, was sent to find Riis and bring her back with him. Van was very angry with Riis and, when he had had to cancel his afternoon meetings due to her, he had the castle turned upside down looking for her. With that much commotion in the castle, it would be natural for Riis, a woods creature, to want to be in a more open space.

It was early summer, and the nights were getting warm. But as he walked towards Riis, Koyo would swear by his draconian blood that the air was getting warmer as he got closer to Riis. Sweat was pouring down his face as he got close enough to reach out and touch Riis. Despite his closeness, he couldn't hear her. Sure, he could see her mouth move and her nodding her head, obvious gestures that she was holding a conversation.

Gasping for breath, Koyo managed to speak. "Who…are you talking to, Riis?" He was shaking from the effort of standing so close. A flash of blinding light and Koyo knew no more…

* * *

"Do you really think that that was necessary, child?" Fir asked her grandchild. 

"He scared scent out of me!" Riis exclaimed.

"I think you'll be spending a lot of time with him in the days to come, my child," her grandmother replied with a smile.

"Huh?" Riis, despite living in a castle, still hadn't improved a great deal on her vocabulary. Though, when Fir pointed at her attire, Riis hissed. Instead of the green shirt and loose khakis she had been wearing, Riis was now in her ceremonial attire. Where the khakis had been was a white layered skirt held on her by a green and tan belt. Her shirt consisted of a similar white material that her skirt was made of with a similar green and tan collar holding it in place. Her ceremonial sandals were absent, but Riis thought that might be because she hadn't been wearing shoes in the first place.

"How? How did this happen?" She whispered. Koyo was behind her in the place of In-Between where she talked with her grandmother.

"I think your magic, which is tied to your subconscious, found something about the boy that made him a model for a suitable mate for you," Fir explained. "Though," she continued, "I do think the bar was set awfully high."

"What will happen to me now?" Riis wondered out loud.

"Well, you're going to be four this year, right?" Her grandmother thought that she had been asking a question.

"Yes, I'll be seventeen," Riis replied. Fir scowled at her use of the human aging system.

"You're an adult at four," Fir stated. "You'll go into your first heat."

"What!" Riis squeaked as a blush spread on her face.

"Depending on how fast you answer your heat will depend on how long it will last and its intensity."

"Intensity?" Riis asked with a blank look on her face.

"The stronger the call will be," Fir replied.

"Oh," Riis replied.

"I suggest you do something about Prince Koyo," Fir stated. "Your heat will affect your magic."

Riis growled, but nodded. She already felt warm, and her ceremonial clothes were getting restricting in the most uncomfortable ways. She growled again when she realized her grandmother had left her alone with Koyo. As she was coming to this realization, Koyo groaned and rubbed his head. Turning into her fox form so she wouldn't have to explain her clothes, Koyo and Riis returned to the castle.

* * *

There was a knocking on his door at an ungodly dark hour. Van, grumbling, tumbled out of bed. Getting up off the floor with a few curses under his breath, Van wandered through his rooms to the door. 

"Hold on, I'm coming," Van called as he pulled his shirt over his head. Opening the door, Van came face to face with an extremely bright light. With cursing and apologies, the light was dimmed enough for poor Van's dilated eyes. The person before Van was none other than his Dog Master.

"Dog master," Van mumbled. "What brings you to my quarters at such an hour?"

"The dogs are in heat," the dog master replied.

"Which ones?" Van was curious now. The only dogs that were close to season were the guard dogs.

"All of them milord," the dog master replied. "Every breed we have is in heat."

"Give me a moment," Van replied. He shut the heavy door before reappearing in pants and boots. The Fanelian family sword hung at his waist and swayed back and forth as the Dog master led the way down the expansive corridors to the dog kennels.

Van looked at all the kennels. Sure enough, all the bitches were in heat. But, despite all the kennels of barking dogs, there was a shadow in a seemingly empty kennel in the back. Getting the Dog master's attention, Van led him to a kennel that sported one pair of glowing green eyes.

"Come here, girl," the Dog master called.

"Girl?" Van was wondering what dog was in here.

"Prince Koyo came by earlier and put Riis in here," the Dog Master replied. "I don't know why. He seemed a bit mad."

"_He was mad at me," _a voice replied to them. Their eyes widened with all the emotion in the words. "_I broke something in his room._"

As the last few words reached their minds, a black vixen sauntered into the lantern light. Her tail was swishing behind her as if fanning something. Van gulped. He noted the dog master looked extremely uncomfortable. Her green eyes were so deceiving. Van shook his head.

"I'll take her to Prince Koyo's room," Van said slowly. "He's supposed to be watching her. Breed the dogs in the morning if they're still in heat."

"If they're still in heat?" the Dog master seemed confused.

"I think my fox here is in heat and the dogs are reacting to her," Van explained as he snapped a leash on her collar and left the dog master to turn in for the rest of the evening.

The corridors seemed so big without the hustle and bustle of the maids and servants, visiting dignitaries and, of course, the apprentices. Van took the long way through the castle to Koyo's suite. He watched as budding flowers bloomed as they passed the vases they were in. Fox magic was definitely something he knew little about. Reaching his son's suite, he opened the door, unhooked the leash, and pushed her into the room. The quick, soft click and a loud thud told him that Riis had tried to escape. Smirking, he made his way back to his rooms and his warm bed.

* * *

He knew something had woken him up. He sat up on the couch, squinting with the sudden light of the fire. Standing up and turning around, he was met with…nothing. Sitting back down, he couldn't quite place why still felt like he wasn't alone. Silken fur passed by his leg and he unconsciously reached down and petted the fox twining around his legs. It wasn't until she jumped into his lap that he realized that the fox meant the shadowfox which, in turn, meant Riis. He looked into her deep, vibrant green eyes. Something in the fox in front of him called to him, and Koyo, not knowing any better, answered.

* * *

The summer was coming to an end. The trees around Fanelia started to put on a brilliant show of colour; each type of tree trying to outdo the next. Some birds left while some traded their gaudy, showy summer colours for more subtle, drab colours for winter survival. The dogs in the kennels grew a thicker coat and if one traveled quietly into the woods, they could hear the deer locking antlers. 

It was around this time that Riis became…unpredictable. When Van asked Hitomi about it one day, she merely commented that she was "moody". These days Riis was always in her fox form and always had something in her mouth. Whenever she wasn't walking, she had it tucked between her paws up close to her body. Anyone who tried to find out what it was was snapped at by Riis.

She didn't talk much either. Van talked to her during his routine meetings and when he talked with visiting dignitaries or their representatives. But other than that, he heard rumors from the servants that Koyo even got her meals for her. He wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on with her, but she seemed to disappear each time he decided to follow up on that notion. Van was frustrated and angry.

Millerna was visiting Hitomi at Fanelia when Koyo, instead of Riis, showed up outside his conference hall. His face was kissed with the cold. Van mused to himself that he must have been out feeding Hitomi's birds. He noted that Koyo looked extremely uncomfortable or worried over something.

"What is it?" Van asked. He didn't like the fact that Riis wasn't with him. During the last moon you couldn't find one without the other.

"Well, Riis is acting odd," Koyo said as he fidgeted. "Something's not right with her."

"I'll tell the advisors to postpone the meetings," Van instructed him. "You get the dog master. I'll meet you at your quarters."

"Yes father." Koyo had his back to Van and was running to get the dog master before he had finished the sentence.

"She looks fine to me," the dog master said. "She's curled right up and sleeping nice by the hearth."

Koyo and Van just looked at each other. They could clearly see her panting and stretched out on the rug in front of the fire. Father and son looked at each other.

"Why don't you go fetch your mother?" Van whispered to Koyo, still watching Riis. The dog master took his leave and Koyo followed soon after.

Hitomi entered Koyo's chambers to sweltering heat. It was almost like the deserts in Freid. Van was standing as far away from the fire as was humanely possible. There was a roaring fire in the hearth and Koyo left her side to attend to something on the bed. She followed him and found Riis, all panting and looking like a sick animal.

"Poor thing," Hitomi clucked as she sat on the bed and started to stroke the fox's ears. Hitomi seemed oblivious to the balls of light that became more numerous as she petted the fox. When it seemed she would finally see them, they coalesced, and Riis disappeared.

"Riis!" Koyo called as he lunged for her tail. Touching the velvet black of her tail, Koyo promptly disappeared as well. Van, who was perched on the rail or Koyo's balcony, flinched as a wave of magic washed over him. He wondered…

He was not where he expected he would end up. The walls of the room he was in looked like they were covered in tree bark. The shelves that held unknown items looked like woven branches! Koyo suddenly became aware of voices drifting in through a slightly open door.

"…shouldn't be so difficult for her."

"…conflicting magics…"

Curious, Koyo made his way to the door. Peering out, he saw his mother and another shadowfox tending Riis. Koyo looked at Riis then. Her face looked pained as she panted through what looked like a fever. His gaze swept down her form and stopped at…

"Dear Lord," Koyo exclaimed as he fainted.

* * *

"Well, that could have gone better," Fir replied as she spared a glance for the unconscious youth that had unceremoniously entered the room. 

"Well, he does take after his father," Hitomi replied as she returned her attention to Riis. "How will this affect her pup?"

"I don't think that her pup is in any danger," Fir said slowly, "but from what you told me, she shouldn't be in this form to give birth." Both women looked at the young shadowfox.

"I'm surprised your boy could come here," Fir said conversationally. Hitomi noted the change of subject. "I know that you and your mate can Travel, but I didn't know that your son could."

"He can't," Hitomi stated simply. "He has no urge to visit Earth, or rather, the Mystic Moon. I think it might have something to do with his protectiveness of Riis."

"How sweet," Fir replied dryly. Fir and Hitomi's eyes were distant as they watched Riis. They weren't exactly looking at her, more like they were studying her aura. Hitomi pointed to a white and blue spot in her otherwise green and brown aura. Fir nodded.

"I think this is what her problem is," Hitomi said, her voice a little distant. Fir nodded again and she reached her hand out and touched it. The blue and the white mixed into a multi coloured sphere. The two women clasped hands and placed a free hand on Riis' shoulders. They watched as her aura moved, painfully slow, to the brightly coloured sphere. There was an audible hum and a soft clap of thunder as the sphere was absorbed and interlaced into Riis' normal aura. A loud clap sounded shortly after as a shadowfox replaced the humanoid that had previously occupied the table. Riis' body seemed to relax as she stopped fighting something.

"Good girl," Hitomi said as she stroked the fox's long ears.

"Quick Hitomi!" Fir exclaimed. "Grab her tail!" The two women became very busy.

tbc

AN: almost done!


	20. Surprises

**_AN: _**I have had some reviewers ask me about a few things concerning Riis, mainly, the issue of heat. I have asked my good friend Merriam, and this is the answer I recieved.

Main Entry: **2heat**  
Function: _noun_  
Etymology: Middle English _hete, _from Old English _hAEte, hAEtu; _akin to Old English _hAt _hot

**2 a** intensity of feeling or reaction **: PASSION** **b** the height or stress of an action or condition in the _heat_ of battle> **c** sexual excitement especially in a **female mammal**; _specifically_ **: ESTRUS**

and since Riis is a female mammal...you put two and two together. This is the last chapter of Feathers of a Fox. I originally started writing this story because I couldn't cope with the death of my dog, Dutch. Yes, people, Dutch was a real dog with the mixed pedigree of a german shepherd and a huskie. The reason I haven't updated quickly is because I haven't wanted to deal with the painful memories that this story brings up when I have to go back through and find details and I come across Dutch doing this or that. He was a beautiful dog.

Enjoy this last chapter.

**Disclaimer: **eh, I'll say it since it's the last chapter. All the original Escaflowne characters (i.e. Allen, Van, Hitomi, etc) are copyright to those people listed on the back of their dvd's. Koyo, Fir, Riis, etc. are mine. MINE! so, if you want to use them, please ask me. I'll take it into consideration.

**WARNING! **

There is explicit content and sexual situations in this chapter (near the end. All implied of course). This story is M(R) for a reason.

**YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

**-----------------------------------**

And now our Feature Presentation...

**Surprises Are Supposed to Come on Birthdays _Only_**

Van explained the disappearance of Hitomi, Riis, and Koyo as visiting a neighboring country, and since a holiday was just about on Fanelia, he postponed all meetings until after the festival. For the festival's sake, of course. It had nothing to do with the disappearance of his shadowfox.

Wearing his traditional red tunic and khakis, Van ventured out of the castle. His intentions had been to visit the vendors and booths lining the streets, but he ended up walking the paths in the woods behind the castle. He could feel an odd resonance. He finally realized, after he fell into a slight indent that turned out to be dragon print, that he was on a dragon path. The mused that maybe it was because he was a Draconian. He randomly took a deer path to the right and actually stumbled on a small gathering of deer. They just looked at each other before returning to their grazing. _Odd_, Van thought. _They usually run at the sight of anyone._ He walked through the heard.

* * *

"That was most interesting," Fir mused as Hitomi dried a small fox kit. Riis was sleeping all curled up in an unconscious Koyo's lap. 

"Isn't Riis supposed to feed her or something?" Hitomi asked curiously.

Riis laughed. "That's now how shadowfox work, dearie." Her smile was so full of amusement, Hitomi pouted.

"Soon, the kit will have a 'growth spurt' of sorts." Hitomi still looked a little confused. So Fir decided to try to clarify things a little bit. "You do know that Riis will be four come mid-spring?"

From the look Hitomi gave her she could only suspect that she hadn't known.

They both looked at Riis. Every so slowly, she eventually was laying on the ground as Koyo disappeared. Riis soon followed as well as the kit. Soon, Hitomi's vision became misty.

Fir shrugged. "Technically, you shouldn't be here. The Land of the Gods and the Dead are not for the living." With that, Hitomi saw black……

……her vision came back to a spluttering noise and the chirping of birds. She looked around herself. There were deer grazing in a clearing that had yet to be claimed by snow. A stag looked at her then below her before he went back to grazing. Curious, she looked down to see a pair of khaki pants. Standing up and turning around, she looked into dazed brown-red eyes.

"Van?"

Said person blinked a few times before groaning and reaching for his head. "Dammit, Hitomi, couldn't you at least land at a more convenient place, say next to me?" Her silver laughter caused all the deer to pause in their grazing and look at her.

* * *

Koyo woke to a flux in something's power. Slowly opening his eyes, he groaned. He felt like he'd been sparing against Allen and his father in a melee tournament. He looked around and found himself in Riis' rooms. She was standing behind someone brushing their hair. 

"Riis?" Koyo inquired as he unsteadily got to his feet.

"Ciferu," Koyo heard Riis chime. "Go greet your father."

"DADDY?" a child screeched. He suddenly found himself back on the ground with a child firmly attached around his middle. He looked down and found a little face beaming up at him. "My name is Ciferu!"Ciferu's hair was a dark, dark chocolate brown and her eyes were a red-brown colour with streaks of green and a few fleks of silver. Koyo stared as the child disentangled herself when Riis beckoned her.

"Why don't you go find Hisomu and play tag in the rose garden?" She squealed as she ran out of the suite. A yelp in he corridor said that Ciferu had found Hisomu.

"Dad?" Koyo asked Riis gently as she came and sat by him on the floor. She nodded as she clasped her hands around her knees. She smiled a smile that Koyo swore he just saw bound out of the room.

"Don't you remember the night I broke those figurines and that vase?"

Koyo froze in the action of shaking his head……

_  
Something had woken him up. Sitting up, Koyo looked about and a sudden draft hit him. The door to his suite had been opened and shut. Thinking that a package had been dropped off or a missive, he decided that it could wait until morning before he found out what it was. _

_Velvet soft fur rubbed against his legs. Reaching down, he absently petted the fox. Wait. :Fox.: That meant Shadowfox. Shadowfox meant Riis.: As if the vixen had been reading his thoughts, Riis appeared in his lap. Something was odd about her green eyes, as if something was calling him. He didn't know what it was, although it did seem important. Naïve, Koyo answered her call._

_He found himself in what looked to be part of the gardens. What looked to by a guyemelef was overgrown with various vines and flowers. Trees grew on its upturned palms; the roots trailed down to the ground where they burrowed into the soil. A pond had formed next to the ancient guyemelef, and on its shores was where he found himself. A quick glance beyond the guymelef showed a wall. _

_Lips descended upon his own and he had a compulsion to return the kiss. He became too warm for his shirt in the cool night and the tunic found itself crumpled on the ground. Silver laughter greeted the absence of his tunic and he smiled wryly at his lover. Her black ears twitched as she smiled tauntingly at him. He felt a sense of wrongness with him half naked and not she, but the robes she was wearing didn't really hide anything. Hell, the material was practically transparent. _

"_If you don't hurry," she whispered heatedly, "you won't get the chance to touch my clothes." _

_Koyo grinned. They did fascinate him, what with being made with translucent material. Before he knew it, he was tracing the contours of her body through the delectably soft and thin material. She hissed in pleasure. He could feel her skin warm under his touch. Koyo found a tie at the back of her collar. Unlacing it, her suddenly unrestrained breasts caused the top to slide down. Untangling it from her torso, his mouth found hers as they kissed again. _

_He couldn't remember how, but he soon found himself naked kissing his lover who matched him in his choice of dress. She pushed him down on the damp grass. He studied her glassy eyes with hazy eyes. Something dripped onto his stomach, and it was then that he figured out what she wanted. With that, she sat downand he hissed. They danced all through the night, and when he woke up, he found himself looking around his room, tucked into his bed, with Riis at the foot curled up in a ball. _

"I thought it was a dream…" Koyo whispered as he gazed into her tri-coloured eyes. "I thought it was a dream."

"It wasn't a dream, lover," Riis informed him as she kissed him.

* * *

Ciferu ran through the roses giggling as any young child would as she chased Hisomu. So it came as a surprise at dinner that evening when Riis entered with the cutest child hanging on her skirt. The fact that Riis was wearing a skirt was a surprise in itself. The reason to Riis' skirt was shrugged off as the festival. The child sat next to Riis who sat next to Koyo. Both acted as young people should when there were a dozen or more important dignitaries and foreign lords attending dinner. Riis asked a servant to see that the child was put to sleep in her suite when she fell asleep at the table. All the dignitaries smiled as two maids came and took the sleepy child to the specified rooms.

* * *

Van and Hitomi wished their guests well at the end of the dinner as the moon was high in the sky. As Riis was returning to her rooms, Van turned the corner and, by Newton's laws of motion, they collided and fell. Getting to her feet, Riis started her journey to her rooms when a question from Van stopped her. 

"That child that you had at dinner seemed a bit familiar. Who is she?" Riis couldn't remember exactly who was in the room with her when she had started to go into labor, but she would be money that the king in front of her sitting casually on the floor was. Deciding what she should say, Riis finally settled on the truth.

"She's my daughter, Van." Her usually laughing eyes were on guard. He just nodded. She smiled evilly as she decided to tell him the rest. "Your son was a good lover. I can only hope he'll be a good father."

She turned the corner and left Van dumbfounded on the floor, eyes staring after her in disbelief.

Winter left and spring came. Ciferu gained control of her other two forms in the warming weather and began experimenting with her magic. The kit found her fox self on the roof boarding one of the courtyards one day when she found an odd magic nestled and interwoven deep within herself. It bled into her fox magic that she had been getting used to over thelengthening winter days. Tapping into it, she was stunned and excited when she found wings explode from her withers. Ciferu spread her wings as she jumped off the roof…

* * *

Van had Riis on a leash only to assure the visiting dignitaries as they crossed one of the many courtyards. A scream from above had all the dignitaries, Van, and Riis looking up. A winged creature was plummeting toward the ground. He felt Riis lunge and jump as wings exploded from her back. She caught the creature in her jaws and landed gracefully to the clapping of the dignitaries. They thought it was just a show. 

Van watched Riis scold the kit, Ciferu, and the wings disappear from both foxes. Riis laid down and Ciferu, with her bushy tail between her legs, made her way to Hisomu. The Noisome Mutt picked the kit up and trotted out of the courtyard. He reached the vixen as Hisomu reached the door.

_I dabbled in my kit's magic too far. _Riis told him as a tri-coloured eye watched him. _Her magic marked me. I was exposed to it for too long._ She sighed as she fell asleep, exhausted from using foreign magic.

A dignitary picked up a large primary feather, running it through his hands. Van turned with Riis now in his arms and made his way back to them.

"King Van," the dignitary began. He was a big man who looked like he was outside a lot. "I think that these feathers might rival a Draconian's feather, and I have seen examples of your feathers. It's durable, but lightweight and look," he bent the feather and instead of it snapping as a normal feather would, it resisted and retook the shape it had been, "it doesn't break."

"Odd feathers," another dignitary exclaimed. "These fox feathers are most interesting."

"Feathers of a fox," another dignitary said softly. "Who would have thought that foxes could fly?"

"She's a Shadowfox," the first dignitary explained. "Who knows what a shadowfox is capable of?"

The other dignitaries nodded as if that explained everything.

* * *

And so it came that Dryden heard that the King of Fanelia had a flying fox. Everybody seemed so worked up over it. He himself didn't understand what all the fuss was about. What was the big deal if Van decided to get a bat? And from what he was saying, it was a big one, too. It'd seem that he'd have to pay his old friend a visit. 

Fin.

AN: I just realized, as I was thinking over the story, I left Romulus and Remus with that lawyer perosn and totally in the blue...I guess that means there'll be an epilogue. Don't expect that for two weeks. I have finals until Wednesday and Regents the rest of the week and all next week. :D Something for you to look forward to:D Enjoy your summer days!


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